Easter Island Collapse Essay

Easter Island Collapse Essay
ABSTRACT Easter Island, also known by the indigenous name Rapa Nui, is a remote island in the
south Pacific Ocean located over 2000 miles off the coast of Chile and over 1250 miles from the
nearest Polynesian island. Easter Island is best known for the hundreds of statues scattered across
the island, largely because the question of how exactly these statues got to where they rest has
stirred the minds of many theorists since the island's "discovery" by the Dutch Admiral Roggeveen
on Easter Sunday of 1722. This very mystery is considered a pillar in Jared Diamond's book
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Diamond claims that the people of Easter Island
carelessly abused the trees located on the island, mainly for the purpose ... Show more content on
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He believes that the islanders cut each tree down one by one for materialistic and impractical
purposes with no consideration to consequences of their actions, and claims that we are currently
doing the same thing to our planet. Could Diamond be right? Could the story of Easter Island truly
be considered a parable in respect to our need for oil and other natural resources? The purpose of
this research paper is to take a consequentialist approach to explore the ethical claims Diamond
makes of environmental irresponsibility on Easter Island and its unique case of deforestation. I hold
that Diamond's claim of Easter Island's self–induced environmental degradation is wholly
misleading as a parable for our planet's current path toward environmental sustainability. Rather, I
will show that the past inhabitants of this small island were, in fact, environmental stewards, and
that they overcame challenges that were brought on by causes that were completely out of their
control. Furthermore, I will explain how Diamond's claim that Easter Island being a fair comparison
is very misleading in regards to our current environmental situation, as the occurrences on Easter
Island are far different than what put our planet in the environmental challenges we are currently
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Maya Civilization Collapse
The example of societal collapse in which I will be making reference to throughout this essay is the
Maya civilization. The Maya civilization is, "probably the best known of all early American
civilizations." (Fagan, 1995) It was at its strongest point between AD 300 AND 900. Around AD
900 was the time of its collapse. This civilization was developed in a densely, tropical forest on
either highlands or lowlands. Today to visit a Mayan site, people would go to the modern Mexican
state, capital city of Merida. This site was once home to the "New World's most advanced Native
American civilization before European arrival." (Diamond, 2009) Over the years there has been
many predictions on what had caused the Maya civilization to collapse. At ... Show more content on
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He stated that if the communication between the rulers and the Gods failed and the hope for a good
harvesting season and the production of rainfall to occur, tensions would develop rapidly among the
group. Here we have another example of how climate change and societal factors can affect the
societal well–being of a group. Traditions were handed down from generation to generation. The
ways of living and teaching were embedded into each Mayan person. Some of these ways of living
consisted as being hunter–gatherers, this is because their predecessors were known for their hunting
and gathering of supplies to keep them alive. Climate change and education come into consideration
here whilst talking about their well–being. Due to the fact that their predecessors were hunter–
gatherers, the weather had a major impact on their ways of collecting food and supplies. If there was
severe weather conditions throughout the forest there was a limit in the amount of food collected
and in terms of the education view it declines also because they cannot learn from their ancestors
how to survive in these conditions. It is believed that they were not 'savages' but people who
developed their own culture

The Intuitionist Essay
The Intuitionist, a novel written by Colson Whitehead, illustrates many aspects of society through
the parody of a detective novel. Since elevator inspectors have no detective talents, the idea is just a
cover, underneath which lies a myriad of the author's opinions on society. The book, published only
in the year nineteen–ninety–nine, is filled with miniscule clues that pilot one toward substantial
metaphors. Among these are racism, politics, one's place in society, and so on and so forth. This
novel is an ocean of allegories in its youth, its depths waiting to be explored.
Whitehead (1969 – present) began writing this manuscript with the idea that he could incorporate an
elevator inspector into a mystery novel. In an interview ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The philosophies, although in this book mostly applied to methods of conducting elevator
inspections, also pertain to modern society. The Intuitionists base everything on instinct, their
doctrine asserting, "[you] don't need to see anything, you just feel it" (Whitehead). This is the more
controversial of the two philosophies. Empiricism insists that everything is done by the books and is
the more popular of the two among not only the citizens of Whitehead's metropolis, but the world in
general. After the mysterious elevator accident, Lila Mae Watson, the main character, is faced with
the query of how things should be done and whether she had been right all along by practicing the
method of the Intuitionists. Every person faces that decision at some point in their lives. Nobody is
born with the knowledge of how they should act, who they should trust, etc. However, in Lila Mae's
case these questions have come to an extreme, where she has to choose between two ways of being.
She has to decide whether it is one's instincts that will lead one to succeed or following a rigid set of
rules. The battle between the two rivaling philosophies seems to have the same impact as the battle
between good and evil does on the people in modern–day society.
Before one can make any important

An Inconvenient Truth Research Paper
An Inconvenient Truth
"You look at that river gently flowing by. You notice the leaves rustling with the wind. You hear the
birds; you hear the tree frogs. In the distance you hear a cow. You feel the grass. The mud gives a
little bit on the river bank. It's quiet; it's peaceful. And all of a sudden, it's a gear shift inside you.
And it's like taking a deep breath and going, "Oh yeah, I forgot about this." –Al Gore, An
Inconvenient Truth
–
Inconvenient Truth "You see that pale, blue dot? That's us. Everything that has ever happened in all
of human history, has happened on that pixel. All the triumphs and all the tragedies, all the wars all
the famines, all the major advances... it's our only home. And that is what is at stake, our ... Show
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But that article was published in Newsweek and never appeared in a peer–reviewed journal"
(Inconvenient Truth). This shows that there are people who are deliberately trying to mislead the
public through false publications. The economical and political factors that are affecting this issue
are the costs this is going to have on large companies. "The truth about global warming is especially
inconvenient and unwelcome to some powerful people and companies making enormous sums of
money from activities they know full well will have to change in order to ensure the planet's
livability" (Inconvenient Truth). If market capitalism can be made an ally of environmentalism, then
businesses will keep track of all the economic decisions made, whether they have good or bad
consequences. The most interesting thing I found about this film was the speed of which global
warming is occurring. I always thought it would happen at a much slower pace than it actually is.
The most surprising part about the film was when he talked about how the extinction rate today is
100 to 1000 times higher than it should be. The most poignant scenes were the ones showing the
glaciers melting and the one showing the present day and projected carbon dioxide levels. The
glacier scene showed pictures of glaciers 30 years ago progressing up to today. There was a drastic
difference in the size of the glaciers and some were almost gone completely. The scene showing the
CO2 levels was

John Winthrop : Puritan Fanatic Or Religious Realist
Ed Reed, Section 06 ENGL 1001W
John Winthrop: Puritan Fanatic or Religious Realist
Attempts at English colonization of what would later become the United States of America in the
early 1600's had appeared wholly unsuccessful. Between 1608 and 1624, only 3,400 of the 6,000
English settlers of Jamestown survived due to starvation, disease, and attacks from the natives
(Stahle). Notoriously, there is evidence that the settlers of Jamestown resorted to cannibalism to feed
themselves (O'Brien). Even earlier than Jamestown, the colony of Roanoke seemingly vanished
from Roanoke island without a trace (Kupperman). Among the multitude of leading figures in the
new world, John Winthrop voyaged to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 with hopes for a ...
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Upon examining the Book of Micah, there are many similar themes which Winthrop draws from in
his speech. In the Book of Micah, God punishes the Israelites for breaking their religious covenant
with their "lack of justice and honesty". Micah then speaks with God to find out how they may gain
God's trust and love again to which God demands "to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk
humbly with your God" which Winthrop quotes directly. Winthrop is acknowledging the failures of
previous Christians suggesting that they themselves are vulnerable to God's wrath if they behave
inappropriately, evidence that Winthrop does not believe his Puritans are perfect.
Winthrop begins to list many qualities the Puritans must possess if they want to avoid this
"shipwreck": For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man, we must entertain each
other in brotherly Affection, we must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the
supply of others necessities, we must uphold a familiar Commerce together in all meekness,
gentleness, patience and liberality, we must delight in eache other, make others Conditions our own,
rejoice together, mourn together, labour, and suffer together, always having before our eyes our
Commission and Community in the work, our Community as members of the same body. (Belasco
149)
Winthrop's use of imperative language here further solidifies the idea that he is not a zealous fanatic,
but someone

Wealth Of Nations: The Communist Manifesto By Karl Marx
During the Industrial Revolution, a man named Adam Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations, in which
entails the idea that job specialization makes society great. Approximately 70 years later, a man
named Karl Marx writes the Communist Manifesto, which totally disagrees with Smith's thinking
and says that specialization is bad for society. The strengths and weaknesses of Smith's argument are
to be followed by Marx's ideas that contain some weaknesses but is overall the best argument. Marx
believes that all people are born equal, but due to resources and opportunities scarcely available, few
people can succeed by which they must exploit the rest of the world. Since the markets have
expanded due to the Industrial Revolution, there is more wealth and merchandise available to the
general public. "General plenty" ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Smith tries to reason that business owners are in charge " not so much in their knowledge of the
publick interest" but " as in their having a better knowledge of their own interest than he has of his"
( Smith). Owners believed that they were helping their workers because they knew what was best
for them. Workers had no choice on who could control them since none of them had the chance to be
educated or create a big business themselves. The Bourgeois held the power because they could
easily manipulate their workers into working long and unfair hours. Smith's reasoning states that the
reason business owners have all the wealth and power is because they are special and were meant to
lead. This simply is not true because everyone who has power started off in a wealthy household
where they could receive some form of education and money to create a business. The reason the
Bourgeoisie had control of society was because they had more opportunities given to them than the
common farmer; they did not have power because they were destined to have

What Is John Locke's Somber View Of Human Nature
The development of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution slowly removed the need for
nomadic cultures. Human's ability to farm sufficiently increased the number of individuals settling
in one place. As farming technology advanced, society grew and was able to support more and more
people, which lead to cooperation and ultimately the beginning of societies. The informal leadership
within these small groups slowly evolved to a more formal form of governance to handle societal
issues. As the legitimacy of a government shifted away from the mandate of God, men became more
involved in politics from all aspect. Without divine instruction, men devised of political system in
hope of the preservation of his rights and liberties. Summarizing the ... Show more content on
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To guarantee the rights of the individuals, rules would be put in place by government representatives
whom are elected by popular votes. The government would be divided into the legislative body,
executive body, and federative body. Responsible for the creation of laws, the legislative body
would be formed by a representative assemble. Differing from Madison, the executive and
federative body would then be filled by officials whose power to enforce stems from the legislative
body (Kemerling). Controlling the entire government, the legislative body in Locke's system has the
ultimate political authority within the nation. Unlike Madison, Locke's political system allowed for
the government to pass laws deemed necessary to preserve the rights of its citizens. Without the
checks and balances to prevent a governmental encroachment on individuals' rights, Locke believed
that any major encroachment on the individuals' right would be seen by society as a breach of the
social contract. This would then result in a revolution to replace the government in power in order to
restore inalienable rights. The idea of a revolution would similarly keep the government in check as
they would recognize the power of the

Ecology of Maryland
ECOLOGY OF MARYLAND, USA The Earth's crust has been undergoing complex chemical,
physical, and biological reactions over more than 4 billion years now. In this relentless tardiness of
geologic instance, the convection of the Earth's mantle gave form to the planet (Cronon, 1993). The
Middle Atlantic region of North American was shaped by the tectonic plate movements and climatic
changes shaping the ancient oceans into lands. Water streams gave form to hills and deep valleys
and rainwater broke big rocks into fine soil. It is interesting to note that while all this was taking
place, Maryland's mountains were comparable to the size of the Himalayas (Flannery, 2001). Their
rock gradually created the mountain that we see in Maryland in the present day. Eventually,
Maryland's rock layer turned into fertile soils, mineral deposits, and composite water elements. The
political boundaries of the State of Maryland enclose an ecologically assorted land. Its river systems
nosh the Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware River, and the Ohio River. Throughout the state, altitudes
ascend from the coast to more than 3,000 feet at Backbone Mountain in Garrett County (Krech,
1999). Granite bedrock projects from the plane of western Maryland, at the same time as a block of
unconsolidated residues cover this rocky bottom to a profundity of 8,000 feet at the Atlantic
shoreline (Flannery, 2001). Maryland's flora is likewise capricious, being a creation of the assorted
soils, weather and water. The

'Collapse' By Jared Diamond
Collapse Book Review
Alex Loureiro
4–17–15
Professor. Hauselmann
Jared Diamond in his book "Collapse", goes on a journey throughout the world and discovers what
made some of the world's greatest societies and civilization's "collapse". Jared Diamond is currently
a Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Jared
Diamond is originally trained as a bird scientist. But is best known for a wide range of expertise in
other areas of profession, such as ecology, geography, biology, etc. Jared Diamond is a very
influential man in the study of geography. He is also referred to, by some, the most well rounded
Geography in our era.
Jared Diamond has been the New York times bestselling author ... Show more content on
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He explains the fall and collapse of the Anasazi and their Neighbors. Jared Diamond explains that
the Anasazi experienced hostile neighbors, which means trade between the two civilizations was cut
off by a series of conflicts or just a conflict. The Anasazi also experienced environmental problems
and dramatic climate change. Which ruined their crops and made an even higher demand for water.
These are the reasons why the Anasazi collapsed. Another one of Jared Diamonds most explored and
passionate topics is the demise of the Maya. The Mayan were once a great civilization in modern
day Mexico. But with many problems facing the once great civilization started to deteriorate. The
Mayan civilization started to face many many environmental damage, dramatic climate change, and
hostile neighbors that cut off trade routes and exchange of goods between each cultures. The once
great societies could not fix the internal and external damages quickly, and soon it

Rapa Nui And Jared Diamond's Collapse
What happened to the Rapa Nui or Easter Island people really depends on whose account of their
"collapse" one trusts the most. Jared Diamond differs from Carl Lipo and Terry Hunt on what he
feels happened to the Rapa Nui civilization. Diamond's version of their narrative in Collapse: How
Societies Choose to Fail to Succeed was that the civilization began in 900 AD (Diamond: 89). As
soon as humans arrived on the island, they began cutting down trees for agriculture and use of the
timber. While timber did help with building, they also used it in a ladder style fashion to move the
moai statues. The moai represented the tribe's power and so as population grew, the amount and size
of moai created did as well. Eventually, they cut down the last tree for use. Diamond believes peak
population reached anywhere from 6,000 to 30,000 people with five to 15 people living in a
household. Once the trees were gone civil wars began to break out. Without trees they could no ...
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They believe Rapa Nui was first settled in YEAR AND SOURCE and while humans did play a part
in deforestation, they knew better that to just cut down every tree on the island. Lipo and Hunt
believe rats played the biggest role in their society's loss of trees. Rats would eat the seeds that fell
to the ground and as the rat population grew more and more seeds were eaten, preventing the natural
replenishment of the forests. In their opinion, Rapa Nui's population never exceeded 15,000 people
and their population actually continued to increase once the trees were gone since there was more
room for farming and that soil had not been depleted yet. Instead, the population decrease was
caused solely by the Europeans arrival. They brought numerous diseases that killed off a lot of the
population and another large portion of the population was taken to be

An Ideological Level, James Sets Up Two Systems Essay
On an ideological level, James sets up two systems: the modern sexual emancipator represented in
Olive, and the radical conservative represented in Basil. Verena has to choose between them. Basil
considers that Olive's views about women's liberation are inanities she is not sure of their meanings:
the inanities she uttered ─ the rights and wrongs of women, the equality of the sexes, the hysterics
of conventions, the further stultification of the suffrage, the prospect of conscript mothers in the
national Senate. It made no difference; she didn 't mean it; she didn't know what she meant, she had
been stuffed with this trash by her father, and she was neither more nor less willing to say it than to
say anything else (James, Bostonians 62).
Basil's masculinity and his indifference towards feminist ideals constantly always annoys Olive
Chancellor who accuses him of bieng the stiffest of conservatives whose minds were steeled against
women.
The female struggle against patriarchy is not confined to Olive and Verena but the other minor
characters fill out the picture of the Bostonian feminist society. Miss Birdseye is a very elderly
feminine activist from a previous generation. Though she is a feminist, she is different from Olive.
She represents the reasonable voice of feminism: "She seemed ... a multitude of socialistic figures of
names and episodes ... She looked as if she had spent her entire life on platforms, in audiences, in
conventions, in phalansteries, in séances"

Jared Diamond Collapse Summary
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail Or Succeed Author: Jared Diamond Published in New York,
2005 Pages: 570 Summary: This book follows the events of several civilizations from the past and
present, and how they either failed or succeeded to survive. The book starts with the author talking
about the Huls and Gardar Farm, and how even though they were thousands of miles apart, they had
many similar strengths which made them the superior farm in the area. The author then reveals that
the Huls farm was a growing farm in the modern U.S. and the Gardar Farm was a Norse farm in
greenland that was abandoned over 500 years ago. After revealing the differences between the two
farms, Diamond then states that any society, even one seeming ... Show more content on
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If we return to our five–point checklist of factors to be considered in connection with environmental
collapses, two of those factors – attacks by neighboring enemy societies, and loss of support from
neighboring friendly societies – played no role in Easter's collapse, because there is no evidence that
there were any enemies or friends in contact with Easter Island society after its founding.... For a
role of a third factor, climate change, we also have no evidence at present, though it may emerge in
the future. That leaves us with just two main sets of factors behind Easter's collapse: human
environmental impacts, especially deforestation and destruction of bird populations; and the
political, social, and religious factors behind the impacts, such as the impossibility of emigration as
an escape valve because of Easter's isolation, a focus on statue construction for reasons already
discussed, and competition between clans and chiefs driving the erection of bigger statues requiring
more wood, rope,and food. (Jared Diamond, Pg.

The Books Of Joshua And Judges Are Very Informative In
The books of Joshua and Judges are very informative in nature, detailing the events that occurred as
Israel entered, conquered, and settled in the Promised Land. These two accounts shine a light on
very important events that would shape the nation they would eventually become. Many miraculous
events took place in these chapters, as God was fighting and winning battles for His people. These
narratives also include many exhilarating and extraordinary battles that are sure to captivate any
reader.
However, despite the many spectacular occurrences that fill both Joshua and Judges, their difference
in tone could not be any more pronounced. Even though these books are only separated by a small
amount of time, one book clearly conveys a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Joshua was a man that knew God and dedicated himself to serving Him. Joshua single–handedly led
the children of Israel to conquer the Promised Land, and he certainly displayed the power of God
through his life.
Most importantly, however, is the truth that Israel was a theocracy, in that it followed the One True
God. God gave His instruction to Joshua, and Joshua passed on this instruction to the people. They,
in turn, were not receiving their commands and instructions from a man, such as the heathen nations
of the day. Instead, they were led by a God that had chosen them and cared for them ever since they
left the land of Egypt. The reason that they were able to prosper and succeed is that God was their
official leader.
The book of Judges, however, describes this same nation 's government very differently. After
settling into the Promised Land, Israel 's form of government seemed to become extremely
disorganized. Despite the fact that God had given them clear laws and guidelines for social order,
these people seemed to be very dysfunctional in their ability to follow a clear pattern like they had
done in the book of Joshua.
This was largely due to their reputation of having a variety of leaders. None of the judges led the
people at one time; however, none of them led for a particularly long period of time. Their cycles of
captivity and repatriation resulted in many different people coming into power at different times.
Surely, a revolving

Childhood Is More Precious Than Childhood Essay
In modern day society nothing is more precious than childhood. It is a time full of innocence, love,
light and freedom with little to no worries. Childhood has not always been described as this, full of
hope and dreams and aspirations, the time to just have fun and not to worry about the future, or
wealth. Before the 1800s, childhood was not a thing and children were just seen as miniature adults,
with no value, other than to carry on families. It was not until after the 1800s were childhood
become a national phenomenon. Childhood is set to be this time were its all play and no work,
where your parents or guardian is supposed to take care of you, but what about the children that do
not have this luxury? Although childhood is a modern day universal subject recognized, not all
children get to live their lives the way they are "meant to". The problem is dormant within certain
societies for many reasons. One is the concept of developed and developing countries and their debt
crisis, and another is western and non –Western ideals. With these battling each other, it is hard to
communicate which one is right versus which one is wrong. When it comes to children and work, is
it wrong? Is it ok? Should it be outlawed? Through universal and critical approaches, it will be
shown that although child labour is against the UNCRC, it is crucial for children in some parts of
the world to have this active role. Through critical debates child labour would be further developed
and questioned

Easter Island's Collapse
2.2 PERSONAL ANALYSIS OF DIAMOND'S CLAIM
The common premise of both Diamond's book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
and his scholarly article Easter's End present rather porous arguments that consist of a few over–
looked quirks in his reasoning for self–induced environmental degradation. The first problem to
consider is the heavily unreliable use of the Rapa Nui people's oral tradition, which Diamond has
credulously considered to be a source of unquestionable references to base many of his claims that
he posits in his works as "facts". The passages Diamond used to enforce his argument for the Rapa
Nui peoples socio–environmental collapse seem to have been twisted in a convenient way to help
him get his point across without ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Any story told over an extensive amount of time that is repeated from one person or another will
undoubtedly change – that is quite literally how rumors start. Furthermore, if Diamond is going to
accept oral tradition as a premise for truth, then it is rather peculiar how he fails to account for what
is ostensibly considered to be the the most well–known oral tradition in Rapa Nui oral history – the
statues 'walked' to their locations (Lipo, Hunt, Rapu Haoa, 2012; Journal of Archeological Science;
2859). Diamond's choice of recalling the logs of Roggeveen on a consistent basis is also
questionable for two notable reasons. The first being reliability of the findings of a Dutch explorer
that were documented almost 300 years ago. Secondly, Roggeveen documented that his visit on the
island was for a couple days, which is grounds for questioning the reliability of his claims that there
were no large trees or big ropes to help them move the stone statues. Easter island is approximately
64 square miles in size – far too large to be able to gather a complete and thorough ecological
account of the wildlife and flora that were on the island at the time of his visit. The second reason
being the biased and singular account made in 1722 by one explorer rather than taking a multitude
of other accounts made by others. Other writer–explorers, like Thor Heyerdahl, accounted for the
reports of other earlier explorers,

Capitalism and Its Struggle in Developing Countries
Capitalism and its Struggle in the Developing Countries Since the development of civilization, more
than 5000 years ago, some type of economic system has always been applied. Resources have been
scarce and people always have had to decide how to allocate their resources in the best manner. To
this day, people have tried many different systems. However, systems as feudalism and mercantilism
belong to the past. During more recent times there have been two competing systems, the capitalist
system of the west and the communist system of the east. But with the collapse of the communist
regimes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980's and early 1990's there now is only one system still
standing. Today there is no argument that capitalism, even if ... Show more content on
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Also, immigrants from these countries hardly have any trouble to adapt western capitalism upon
arriving here. The problem is not the lack of effort of the developing countries or any cultural
differences. The problem lies elsewhere. Economic development is a complex process. In classical
economical terms economic growth is defined as increases in four factors; capital, labor, human
capital and technology. The objective is therefore to apply an economic policy that generates the
greatest increases in these factors. There have been many different theories applying to this, but
economists generally agree that economic freedom is essential. Economic freedom is a relatively
vague term. But it can be defined as when it is possible to enter into voluntary agreements, which
are upheld by a strong and predictable rule of law which also protects people's private property.
There have been attempts to measure economic freedom. The most ambitious is the Economic
Freedom Index (EFI) which is reported every year in Economic Freedom of the World, going back
as far as 1970. This research is an attempt to describe and measure different countries level of
economic freedom. EFI measures 37 different categories divided into 5 groups: size of government,
legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to exchange with
foreigners and regulation of credit, labor and business. Each category is measured from zero to ten

Environmentalism And Environment
In the wake of nuclear threats, and ever–industrializing world, environmentalism was conceived.
People began to finally consider how the actions and needs of humanity were negatively impacting
the physical world around us, and began to become a voice in opposition to environmental
degradation on many different levels. While environmentalism in the past has often been pure in
intent, many of the goals involve governmental change, and forgo focus on the individual. While
regulations and laws in favor of the environment are obviously positive, they are worthless if they
are not implemented on an individual level. Individual and local efforts, in terms of
environmentalism, are often the most impactful and effective, eventually leading to change on a
larger scale. With this idea in mind, environmentalism cannot just be something that occurs in wake
of a threat or focuses on large–scale rules and regulations; it must work on shifting the perspective
of individuals on a personal level. During the 19th and 20th century, both rapid industrialism and
nuclear threats caused a new perspective on the role of the environment to humanity. Nuclear
weapons allowed many to realize that the fate of humanity and the environment were linked up with
one another. If the environment is destroyed, humanity will ultimately perish too. Industrial
practices, specifically the ways in which wasted resources, chemical emissions, landscape
degradation, increased population, and garbage impacted human

Corporate Offshore Outsourcing And Its Relevance For...
This paper explores the issue of corporate offshore outsourcing and its relevance to workers' rights.
First and foremost, it is necessary to define both corporate offshore outsourcing and workers' rights
in order to fully grasp the issues associated with corporate offshore outsourcing. Next, this analysis
includes reasons for the emergence of this practice and the negative consequences of this practice on
both workers in the United States and abroad. The current issues with this practice are exemplified
through three corporate offshore outsourcing tragedies. Furthermore, proposed solutions to mitigate
the effects of corporate offshore outsourcing in the future have been provided by a multitude of
qualified scholars. These individuals have lent their opinions, as well as their strategic
recommendations regarding what actions should be taken in order to reclaim workers' rights abroad
and end the abuses that result from corporate offshore outsourcing. It will become apparent that
while a couple strategic recommendations rise to the occasion of tackling this complex and
internationally–recognized problem, others are insufficient to make a real change in how American
corporations operate and behave.
The Emergence of Corporate Offshore Outsourcing
& How to Mitigate the Consequences
A considerable amount of the literature that exists on the topic of corporate offshore outsourcing
does one of three things: (1) explains the issues Americans face with the

Fate In The Great Gatsby
"The trick is always to appear fixed, whatever happens. To hold the pattern we were born to, though
its significance may be lost to us" (Glenday 49). In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, fate is
explored with its connection to social classes, specific characters, and how these fates stick with
these characters throughout the course of their lives. The higher class portrays a more lively, yet
insensitive and careless fate in the novel. The working class carries the weight of the higher class,
although their contributions come unrecognized to the wealthy. When Jay Gatsby attempts to
transition to the upper class, his working class fate made him fail to adapt to the life of the higher
society. The role of the car displays a translation ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Primarily, the fate from these characters derives directly from their birth. Tom Buchanan, one
member of the higher class, is born into a family that "[was] enormously wealthy – even in college
his freedom with money was a matter of reproach" (Fitzgerald 11). Fitzgerald mentions Tom's
freedom with money during college to clarify the fact that his wealth does not all come from his
work – if he worked at all, that is – it is his family that progresses more and more into a higher class
family over generations to give him his fate of being extremely rich.To continue, higher class
characters such as Jordan Baker use dishonesty to gain an advantage over their own kind, and the
remaining classes. Nick describes that "Jordan Baker instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men... She
was incredibly dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage" (58). Jordan is a very
competitive woman who wants to be influential and better than others in not only her sport of golf,
but in her general life as well. She relates to the rest of the higher class, who desire to be as
influential as they can be, by using dishonesty to corrupt others and ultimately get more money out
of it. As well as being dishonest, the people that made themselves guests at Jay Gatsby's parties have
careless traits to them, which create issues in the society, In Nick Carraway's time–table of guests he
sees at Gatsby's house, he

The Environmental Change and the Collapse of Easter Island
The environmental change and the collapse of Easter Island
Ruud Coumans
In this paper, we will search for an explanation of the mystical collapse of society on Easter Island,
during the 18th century. We'll use the second chapter for the book "Collapse. How Society Choose
to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond. First we will summarize some of the evidence supporting the
explanatory framework of the author to give an outline of the situation. Then we will state the
research question. After that we will talk about the underlying process where we will discuss the
actions of the assumptions of the actors goals, the theory of the action implied and the initial
conditions. We will finish with a conclusion.
In his first chapter proposed the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
With climate change he does not mean global warming, but the fact that climate may vary between
months or years. The problem is that in the time of the Easter Island most people only lived long
enough to witness one climate, and not for example a time of plenty and a time of little rain. The
inhabitants of the island therefore had no firsthand memory of a previous period of little or plenty
rain. Therefore, every time they had to come up with a new strategy because they did not know an
old strategy. Another problem with good and bad decades is that after a good period there is too
much population to be supported, and after a bad time there are not enough people to deal with a
climate change. There is not much known about the climate changes at Easter Island. But, we do
know that the population changed a few times because of kidnapping and different epidemics. This
means that although there may have not been a lot of climate change, there was a constant change in
the number of people living on the island who may have not known how to deal with different
circumstances. The third and fourth factor Diamond mentions are hostile neighbors and trade
partners. But, because Easter Island was an island almost completely isolated from the rest of the
world , these factors cannot have played an important role in the collapse of the island. Although in
the book is mentioned that the Easter Islanders sometimes had visitors, these visits were not

The World As Polder By Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond is a world renowned scientist, author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and currently a
geography professor at UCLA. Of his six books published, we will be looking at the last chapter of
his fourth book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. In this book Diamond utilizes
the comparative method to find resemblance in past societal collapses with our current society. In
the chapter entitled, "The World as Polder: What Does it Mean to Us Today," Diamond points out
that there are indeed many parallels between past and present societies and that our modern day
society is currently on a path of self destruction , through examples such as globalization and the
interdependency of each country. Diamond opens the chapter using an ironic tone by posing a
question regarding the parallels between societies such as the "Easter Islands, Henderson Islands,
Anasazi, Maya, and Greenland Norse," with our current society, and then answers it as if he was a
critic arguing against him. Diamond, in his ironic tone, gives examples such as, "deforestation, over
harvesting wild animals sources of their protein, topsoil eroding away, building cities in dry areas,
and destabilizing wars", to be the major catalyst in the collapsing of these past societies (16).
Diamond 's use of irony portrays the ignorance of the "critics" knowledge of today 's societal issues,
because deforestation, destabilizing wars, over harvesting, building cities in dry areas are all
environmental issues

100th Of The World's Worst Invasive Species
A question that usually ask by people when travelling to different countries is whether carrying the
native–species across the boundary or not?
One of the solutions to solve the lacking resources and native plant for agriculture and farming is
that investigate other species from different country. This sound good for developing the economy
but it is also the risk that can bring threat to the environment by interrupting the native food chain.
Many species going through the natural immigration to the new area, also have to face with the
challenge to posse the evolutionary adaptions in order to survive in the new surroundings. Usually,
the invasive species are introduced and transported to the new habitats through global commerce
and trade. It ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
The convention on biological diversity is now putting the invasive species on judge for the decision
on the trading of nonnative alien species from its natural environment to new area due to the issue
and impact .
Kriticos, Darren J., et al. "Invasive Alien Species In The Food Chain: Advancing Risk Assessment
Models To Address Climate Change, Economics And Uncertainty." Neobiota 18 (2013): 1–7.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
This article investigates what risk is created when the invasive species are disrupting the native food
chain. The author is using the reference from different majorities to showing many dissimilar views
about this situation. Invasive alien species are not only harm the environment but also the economy
and uncertainty.
Blackburn, Tim M, et al. "A Unified Classification Of Alien Species Based On The Magnitude Of
Their Environmental Impacts." Plos Biology 12.5 (2014): e1001850. MEDLINE with Full Text.
Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
Diamond, Jared M. Collapse : How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed. n.p.: New York : Viking,
2005., 2005. Print. 20 Oct.

Changes In Ancient History
The reality of the phrase "learn from your mistakes" is one that is not often recognized. When
looking at the ancient history of the world, it is remarkable to notice the advancements of specific
societies, such as the Mayans and the Incans, have created. Not all advancements were progressive,
however. Some set the world back and made it difficult to recover from. Yet without these failures,
it'd be harder to appreciate the successes that have been accomplished. Ancient history gives the new
generation the privilege to take the current problems of today, and solve them efficiently while
providing concrete evidence as to how similar problems were solved. The study of ancient societies,
such as the Mayas and the Incans, proves to be significant ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
Many environmental activists felt that Trump's win was a loss for all that they've been fighting for.
Steven Mufson and Brady Dennis write the response of Bill McKibben, founder of the climate
action group 350.org, when asked how the environmental movement would deal with President
Trump. "–I think it's clear that he wants no part of environmental progress, and I imagine the
damage from this election will be measured in geologic time. We will do what we can, but truthfully
the path forward is not all that clear to me." By studying the history of ancient civilizations, students
can compare this particular issue to ones similar and try to predict what's to come of Trump's

Essay on Collapse Final
Collapse Final
Question One In his book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Jared Diamond
outlines five factors that may lead to a societal collapse: climate change, hostile neighbors, loss of
trading partners, environmental damage, and a society's response to its problems. The climate
change Diamond is talking about here refers to natural fluctuations in weather; fifty years of great
weather can lead to a population boom, but followed by fifty years of bad weather it can lead to
collapse caused by lack of food. Before things were written down, word of mouth was how
information got passed down; there is a time limit to living memory and a society could forget that
the climate of the place they inhabited didn't ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
All of these factors, with the exception of the introduction of alien species, are rooted in
overpopulation relative to the capacity of the environment. According to Diamond, there are two
methods to prevent collapse; the bottom–up method and the top–down method. The Bottom–up
method is most effective in small societies where everyone knows and is accountable to their
neighbors. This allows for the community to create and implement a solution to its own issues. The
Top–down method is meant for bigger societies with bigger government, like the U.S. Unlike with
the bottom–up method, the people are not concerned with the well–being of the entire group; they
do not have an overview of the entire society. However, a ruler does, and also has the ability to
impose rules and regulations on their society to preserve the environment for future generations.
Societies that choose to implement these methods have a better success rate than those that do not.
Also factored into the success of a society is the fragility of the environment, and choosing an
economy to fit that environment. As discussed in class, Diamond uses the method of cherry–picking
to prove his theories. Basically, he picks and chooses which facts to include in his book to best
support his theories. It is impossible for him to list all of the evidence for the collapse of a society

Jared Diamond Collapse Analysis
Questioning Collapse was born out of a November 2006 session of the American Anthropological
Association in response to Jared Diamond's Collapse. A collection of argumentative essays from
fifteen world–renowned scholars, the book aims to critically examine the question of societal
collapse and to make its arguments available to a wide audience. This "user–friendly text" reflects
on the idea that societal collapse may not be as evident in history as scholars have previously
portrayed. Instead, societies have frequently shown evidence of resilience in the face of
environmental, social, and political stress.
The book aim to address three questions: 1) "Why do we portray ancient societies as successes or
failure?" 2) "How do we characterize people ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
A universal definition of collapse should be determined because this topic has so much public
interest, and it is almost impossible to compare arguments when scholars cannot agree on what a
collapse is. If everyone has his or her own definition of collapse, the subject becomes too clouded to
comprehend. While I am no scholar, I identify most with Diamond's definition of collapse: "a drastic
decrease in human population size and/or political/economic/social complexity, over a considerable
area, for an extended time." It is accessible and aligns with the public's understanding of collapse.
Tainter's definition relies too heavily on his idea of society complexity, which is clearly problematic,
and Yoffee and McAnany's definition is too drastic. While a universal definition of collapse is vital,
a universal model may be hopeless. Societies across time and place are so diverse that prescribing
one reason for all of collapse seems far–fetched and beyond human capability. With that said, it
would be difficult to find instances of collapse that do not involve the environment. Humans are
animals, and are a part of nature, whether we wish to believe it or not. Thus, a changing
environment has a great impact on humans. Luckily, we have the power to adapt, and this has led
groups to be resilient and to succeed. It is our adaptability that

The Canadian Health Care System
The Canadian health care system is funded majorly by the public, with very few private donations.
Over the past few decades acts of large–scale philanthropy by wealthy private donors have started to
increase, due to the investments in social programs and infrastructure from the government
declining. Without the aid of private donors and large sources of income from outside of the public
(government) the infrastructure of all hospitals, clinics, and the totality of western healthcare
systems would collapse and ultimately fail as the system is set up presently. There is an opportunity
of keeping a healthy and happy society sustained by public funds, as long as the government is able
to step up and provide the healthcare system with enough funds, making the donations from
philanthropists an excess instead of a necessity. Debt is a burden that is implemented by those who
own it. Debt is the punishment for any group or person that dedicates their work to only helping
those in need. Debt can only be lifted by those with enough money. An employer helps an employee
's debt in exchange for work, a student 's debt is alleviated if the University grants a scholarship, a
bank receiving a bailout from the government ; or a person/group giving money, donating money to
something or someone else. The only way that there is no cost to the receiver, is if the money were
given. Workers must work for there money, a student must succeed in school, and a donation must
be to a certain thing and

The Giver Is A Dystopian Society
No one is perfect. No one can do nothing wrong. No one is God. In other words, there is not one
place that everyone can be the same, or that everyone is pure with no mistake. A perfect place, a
utopian society, are designed to fail, not one utopian society that the whole world can ever make will
succeed. The Giver is a dystopian–fiction book by Lois Lowry, that seems that it is a utopian
society, it is actually dystopian, Jonas realizes that the Elders has taken away everyone's freedoms
and individual–ities, for the so–called common good of the community it becomes more and more
evident that the community is a bad place in which to live. When Jonas realize how important they
are, he could not take the fact that the people in the community are ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
A utopian society could go wrong in so many ways but mostly, it is because the people who control,
or own the community are scared of being in pain or distress, they want peace and quiet. Jonas and
his friends had something very important to them that the Elders have taken away, memories,
"...without memories, it's all meaningless..." Lois Lowry. Without memories in the community, no
one can be themselves, no one can do what they want, and no one will have the happiness and
sadness of the world. Memories are what makes a human, human, without memories, will you ever
remember anyone in the world, or what happens to them? Memories makes sure that people will not
make the same mistake twice, and since the Elders have taken it away, the people do not know the
pain that they will receive if they make a mistake that will cause the whole community to collapse.
A utopian society will not succeed, and never

John Gardner's Grendel And Beowulf
The Hobbit is a classic example of a fool's errand written as a children's tale. Thirteen dwarves, a
hobbit, and a wizard journey across Middle Earth to face a centuries–old dragon that decades earlier
obliterated the combined armies of the dwarves. And yet, against all odds, this pack of misfits
succeeds in their quest, reclaiming Erebor, killing the dragon, and renewing the line of Durin. The
Hobbit is moralistic in nature; it never intends to showcase the literal triumph of the heroes over the
dragon, but rather the victory of one set of values over another. The dwarves' companionship,
sacrifice, and heroism defeat the dragon's antagonistic, materialist, and isolated nature. Many tales
throughout the ages echo this classic theme: love ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
To the Dragon, alternative value systems, such as the Shaper's songs or the priests' religion, are
hollow and worthless, so he relies on materialism as a concrete, tangible means of judging his life.
However, the Dragon's cynicism stems not from disdain for humanity, but his "knowledge of the
future" (63), which condemns him to a life of misery and powerlessness; every "change [to] the
future" (63) he attempts to make inevitably recreates what he sees "from the beginning" (63). The
Dragon's ability to see throughout all of time means that, in Gardner's world, the future is pre–
determined, with the dragon shackled as a prisoner–a mere observer–inside a reality he lacks the
power to alter. He understands that knowledge is not power, because his future knowledge leaves
him no freedom to act; rather, ignorance is liberation, because it at least provides one with the
illusion of free will. Thus, the Dragon's timeless perception of the universe creates his nihilism,
cursing him with the knowledge that neither he, nor anyone else, can change the future.
In contrast to the Dragon's refusal to find purpose in life, Beowulf discovers meaning through
empiricism, using the mere existence of the universe as justification for his efforts to change it. For
instance, Beowulf denounces Grendel's attacks against Heorot because they

2020: A Not-So-Spacey Odyssey Essay
2020 – A Not–So–Spacey Odyssey
The year is 2020 and mankind is reeling from global war. No continent has escaped the devastating
effects as man has, in effect, turned on himself and effected his own destruction. Homes on every
street house the ill and dying. Youths struggle to survive and turn ever more to the government for
aid and assistance. The cycle repeats itself until the inevitable. One day, society must implode,
collapse on itself. The residents of Earth can only hope for a rebirth of the old Greek tale of the
Phoenix rising from her own ashes.
How did mankind arrive at this tumultuous place in human history? What caused this war? These
questions lead us to the discussion of the move of Socialism and the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The government began to slyly dictate who lived and who died; they chose whose life was valuable
enough to save. Houses on every street began to house the sick and dying.
Human subjects of every government would not be treated like this and sit idly by. Protests
everywhere began. The Socialists and Communists had raised taxes to beyond 50% and caused a
healthcare crisis of epic proportions. Their subjects were in revolt and the Socialists were not
deterred; they had learned much from their prior failures. They promised new programs and pushed
propaganda about population control. The sick and dying could now volunteer to be euthanized.
What a modern concept! And, the Socialists argued, the world's population was too great anyhow
and letting a few "slip away" was, after all, good for the Earth. Was man doing his race a kindness
by not fighting the system any longer?
One facet of this new era was that life was complicated and technically advanced. But this had all
come at a price. By 2020, the Earth had been depleted of most of its oil reserves, a historically
useful fuel. New fuels were created but they were vastly more costly. One of the most popular fuels
was a fuel made from corn and potatoes. The cost of food skyrocketed and shortages abounded as
farmers chose to grow only corn and not the other essentials for the human diet. The

The Physics Of Mechanical Engineering
In our daily life we face challenges that we can relate to mechanical engineering, one of the
common examples is the temperature in metal, which is the thermal expansion. Mechanical
engineers use combination of material, human and economic resources to develop mechanical
solutions that help satisfy the needs and wants of society. They must be confident and accurate when
making decisions. Engineers try to look at the problems in the society and come with innovative
ideas in order to solve the difficulties.
Engineering industry has a wide variety of jobs such as civil engineer where you over–watch
bridges, buildings, and the other important structures; it makes sure everything is up to code for
large building and structures. Mechanical engineering works on mechanical systems and other
complex mechanics, such as; cranes and airplane motors. Work experience as an engineer is very
important because when projects are being built, calculations should be accurate in all details,
otherwise the projects will fail and that may cause deaths. In addition, knowing how to react in
certain situations under certain circumstances is an essential part of being an engineer. If someone
who is inexperienced tries to take on a real engineer job, there could be extreme results and
repercussions. One of the problems we, as engineers, face in the engineering world be when there
are or could potentially be an irresponsible engineer or engineers, who are the lead project
manager(s) working on

Essay on COllapse by Jared Diamond
Although Greenland and Australia are thousands of miles apart and very different in geography, they
also have many similarities. In his book "Collapse", Jared Diamond shows that both countries have
the five factors that can contribute to a society's collapse. Greenland's Norse society already
collapsed a long time ago, while Australia is still a First World country going strong. If some things
there don't change, the country's living standard will go down and there could be major problems.
The first factor in Diamond's five–point framework is environmental damage. In Greenland, the
Norse destroyed the natural vegetation, caused soil erosion and cut turn (Diamond, 248). They
burned or cut down trees to clear land for farming and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Rainfall is low and unpredictable in Australia. In summary, the environmental problems there are
similar to Greenland under the Norse, including deforestation, overgrazing and soil erosion, but also
salinization, introduced species, water shortage and man–made droughts (Diamond, 379).
When the Norse arrived in Greenland, the climate was relatively mild (Diamond, 266). Even then,
conditions were not good for living the same lifestyle as in Norway. It was colder there with longer
winters and the soil was worse. Then, in the 1400s, the Little Ice Age happened, and there was even
less hay to feed the cattle. So, the Norse were faced with a second factor in the five–point
framework: climate change. In Australia, there was no ice age, but the climate changed too. The first
settlers arrived during a number of wet years and thought that was normal. They started raising
sheep and cattle expecting rain every year. However, the author states that enough rain falls only in
about half of all years in most areas, and in some only during 2 in 10 years (Diamond, 384).
Moving on to the third factor, the author explains that the Norse were definitely faced with hostile
neighbors in Greenland. He states that "Inuit attacks and threats may have played a direct role in the
Vikings' extinction" (Diamond, 255). The Norse had a bad attitude towards the Inuit, and probably
attacked and killed the first ones they say. The Inuit had

Virginia Albee's Themes: Morality And Values
2 Morality and value Morality and value are the second themes that can find in Albee's plays.
According to Adams (1985: 1–2) in 1960s the United States suffered enough with African–
American issues and the SSSR and Albee, and his followers wrote some plays in response to the
existing situation and American values. In his famous work Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Albee
critically examined institutions and values that Americans held dear – family, marriage, success and
glory, for instance – and proposed they might have taken as shelter to escape from reality
(Adams1985: 2). Through his plays, Albee struggles enough to prove his skillful as a dramatist; the
play was also considered controversial, as it challenged traditional American values and used
offensive language Both Adams (20) and Bigsby (2000: 131) claims that the play is situated in New
England, a cradle of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Bigsby again (1984: 261) argues that Albee's The death of Bessie Smith main concern is concerns
with racism, but "is more usefully seen as a morality play about the collapse of human values and
national purpose." Then he adds, (261) George's "situation resembles that of the Intern in The Death
of Bessie Smith, since they both are frustrated and disappointed by the reality of their lives.
Additionally, he (2000:135) claims that "He [Albee] has never been a realistic playwright even when
as in The Death of Bessie Smith and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – He appeared to be." Thus,
the plays are only based on the historical event, but instead of only representing the event it aims at
values of the current society. The play is not about a simple explanation of racism. Rather, they play
is more compound and concerns with many themes, such morals and values of the contemporary

Gene Splicing Essay
The Future Evolution of Human: Gene Splicing
Gene Splicing: Survival of the Fittest Long ago stories, legends, and myths were created describing
humans who were infused with the body parts of animal. Creatures such as mermaids, centaurs, and
Satyrs were placed into our minds and we could only imagine what it would be like to meet these
creatures. They became so numerous that they were given a category, Anthropomorphism. Over
time and with our knowledge of science increasing, body parts that may have been considered to be
part of Anthropomorphism were explainable. Webbed hands and feet, humans being born with a tail;
and even being born with an extra appendage like an extra toe or finger are no longer a disfiguring
ailment. But what ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Yet currently in western society we keep wasting resources as if they will never end. That is why we
need to start looking at a merger between animals and man. The best of both worlds. The animal
instincts and mans ability for adaption.
The science to gene manipulation and gene splicing leads us back to the question, are we playing
God? In a secular sense, yes, but what religion fails to see is that man and animal have had a
connection that extends through our genetics. We share DNA with many animals, but certain DNA
have long been turned off because we evolved to our current state. As Dr Marilyn Strathern was
quoted as saying, "relatives are always a surprise and biotechnology extends the scope of kinship
along with all of its social entailments." (642) While religion asks that we not engage in this
discussion, there will come a time when it must be discussed and a possible plan must be put in
place for the end of humanity. All options must be considered, and gene splicing is one of those
options.
How would we achieve this chimera of man and animal? Both through nature and nurture, we have
the means today to make it possible. Breeding of the species is one way. The best example of mixed
breeding is the Liger. The half lion / half tiger can be bred and then created in a lab. While the
breeding does not allow for the new animal to have children, the breeding creates a bigger and
stronger animal than the

Collapse Jared Diamond
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed shows Jared Diamond's five–point framework.
Jared Diamond came up with five key elements that determine whether a civilization collapses or
succeeds. Many factors help decide whether a society succeeds or not but Diamond narrowed it to
five. The Mayans are the best example of Diamond's framework because it clearly shows how
environmental problems, failure to adapt to those environmental problems, climate change, essential
trading partners, and neighbors caused this civilization to collapse. The first of Jared Diamond's
five–point framework is climate change, this contributed to the Mayans collapsing. A big climate
change in the Mayan civilization is drought and hurricanes and its effects on the Mayans. Jared
Diamond states "rainfall in the Maya homeland is unpredictably variable between years; some
recent years have had three or four times more rain than other years. Also, the timing of rainfall
within the year is somewhat unpredictable, so it can easily happen that farmers plant their crops in
anticipation of rain and then the rains do not come when expected." (Diamond 254). This proves
how the Mayans did not have a sure season that rainfall would come. Sometimes it would be
abundant and others it would be scarce. This affects ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The Mayans harmed their environment, by deforestation and erosion. Since the Mayans deforested
all the land, that caused erosion. The Mayans by deforesting the land caused another problem for
themselves. The Mayans would cut down trees to use for fuel and construction. Another problem
that arises because of a build up of sediment is drought. Jared Diamond describes it as "man–made
drought" (Diamond 268) because the Mayans caused it themselves. The Mayans were not very
smart to think of the consequences deforestation would have, therefore, it contributed to the
civilization

Essay on The Collapse of the Greenland Norse
In Jared Diamond's novel 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed' he discusses many
civilizations that moved away from their homelands, grew in population, and then either failed or
succeeded in their new environments. Throughout this essay I will attempt to explain the Collapse of
the Greenland Norse, one of the many societies to rise and fall. The Greenland Norse faced multiple
challenges including economical, agricultural, and unfriendly neighbors. Alongside Greenland other
North Atlantic islands faced geographical challenges that lead to some of their falls as well. Yet, first
I will discuss why the Norse left Scandinavia in search of new terrain. Similarly to other expansions
the Norse, also known as Vikings, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
195). Next in line are the Faeroes which lies in mild oceanic climates, but has a shorter growing
season than Orkneys and Shetland Island (Collapse pg. 196). On top of that, the Faeroes were also
known to be wet, foggy, and rainy for over two hundred days out of the year. Perhaps the largest
island other then Greenland itself, was Iceland which was made out of volcanic fire, ice, water, and
wind laying on the Mid–Atlantic Ridge. Now that we've talked about the challenges faced on the
smaller North Atlantic islands, let's go over the problems faced on Greenland by the Norse.
Greenland agriculture was so minimal that most native Norse never saw wheat, bread, or beer made
from barley in their lifetime. In fact, if the Norse did grow any crops, they would have made only an
extremely minor contribution to the diet. Probably just as an occasional luxury food for a few chiefs
and clergy (Collapse pg. 227). As far as the Greenland Norse economy went it was vital that they
were able to work together for the greater good of the whole community. On page (235) of Collapse
it states, "Different Greenland locations produced different things, such that people at different
locations depended on each other for the things that they did not produce." Clearly that sentence
shows how interlinked Greenland Norse society was at the time. Unfortunately for the Norse even
though they were a strong society and interlinked closely

How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed By Jared Diamond...
Picture yourself as a ghostly spectator who is looking onto future archaeologists rummaging through
the remnants of your old house. They are picking up and evaluating your old books, electronics, and
clothes and considering what each item would have been used for, and how did this individual's
society come to be a ruinous, abandoned mess. This is an impossible imagination for someone who
has yet to read Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. In his book,
he states that a society has five determining factors that decide whether it will prevail or collapse:
human–inflicted environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, decreased support from
friendly neighbors, and how a society responds to its problems. Diamond, the creator of this five–
point framework, adequately supports his framework by providing much evidence about the
collapses and potential collapses of past and current societies, such ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
In order for societies to grow and develop, they must consume the resources from their environment;
in many cases, the consumption of such resources without a quota will cause an expenditure rate
higher than that of a regrowth rate, which will eventually lead into a complete depletion. A
significant example of this is deforestation. Although different regions have differing levels of
deforestation, there are resulting problems from deforestation, such as decreased wild game, infertile
soil, and soil erosion. Great examples of deforestation, as illustrated by Diamond, are the Easter
Islanders and the Norse of Greenland. The first inhabitants of Easter Island are believed to have
come from the western islands of Polynesia by boats around 900 A.D. Pollen and charcoal samples
show the disappearance of plant species (including trees) at between 1400 and 1600 A.D. With all
their forests cleared, the islanders were left with a loss of an important resource

Shafer's Argument Analysis
After reading the article, I found it very valid and legitimate. Shafer discusses how over the past few
years our perception of the seriousness of global warming has decreased, and that this decline is due
to the lesser volume of media coverage. The statistic that, "2,286 pieces mentioned global warming
in 2006, compared to 1,353 in 2013", was very eye–opening. Over the past few years more
immediate national problems have taken place, and have taken the media's and the nation's attention
away from global warming. Shafer also goes on to say that because global warming is a more long
term problem, we tend to loose interest. I agree with Shafer's argument that the media's decline has
led to a less severe perception of global warming. I feel that

Why Did The Roman Empire Rises Fall?
Al Stewart once said look to the past and remember no empire rises that sooner or later won't fall.
He was basically saying that everything that rises up will inevitably fall sooner or later. All
throughout history empires have fallen many different reasons. To start off, one of the main reasons
an empire usually falls is due to a weak and corrupt government. An example of this would be the
many Roman emperors that were assassinated during their reign due to power hungry fools among
the senate and council. "In 186 A.D. the Roman army strangled the new emperor, the practice began
of selling the throne to the highest bidder. During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 emperors – 25 of
whom were removed from office by assassination." (Edward Gibbons). This is why the empires
started falling because no one was in rule long enough to get the empire stabilized with all the inner
turmoil of the government taking place. With weak and corrupt governments, this is why empire
started falling. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The civilian population makes up the majority of the empire so if they were to become discontent
due to few resources, it could lead to revolts and possibly the downfall of the empire. "The
processes through which past societies have undermined themselves by damaging their
environments fall into eight categories: deforestation and habitat problems, soil problems, water
management problems, overhunting, overfishing, effects of introduced speciesism native species,
human population growth, and increased per capita impact of people." (Collapse: How Societies
Choose To Fail or Succeed). All of these problems could lead to dissatisfied populations which in
the end could lead to internal conflict if it gets bad enough. In the end, it could possibly cause the
downfall of an

Collapse, By Jared Diamond
COLLAPSE by Jared Diamond attempts to answer the question, "What caused some of the great
civilizations of the past to collapse into ruin, and what can we learn from their fates?"
This book is divided into four main sections, and I'll be talking about the most important sections
and the most important chapters in it.
The first section starts off with Diamond going in to the present in the United States. He starts off
with the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. While it seems untouched, with endless splendor, looks are
deceiving. Diamond shows Montana as the model of our times: healthy on the surface, but at the
moment terminally ill below. As he writes on page 32:
"The Bitterroot Valley presents a microcosm of the environmental problems ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
Covering up to 500,000 square miles, these were extremely fertile lands, watered by the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers. Long, long ago, the area was so populated and so prosperous that it has been
nicknamed the Cradle of Civilization. But it collapsed. Due to thousands of years of irrigation,
subsequent salination, and displacement of forest with agriculture; the area now is the cradle of
misery and hostility. It is now part of the deserts and arid lands of Israel, Lebanon, Jordon, Syria,
Iraq, and southeastern Turkey.
Twilight at Easter is similar to the Fertile Crescent. One reason Diamond selected this island is
because, "it proves to be the closest approximation that we have to an ecological disaster unfolding
in complete isolation." This, is an important aspect for researchers because it means that outside
factors, which so often make the difference, were not influential in the demise. The reasons for
collapse could only come from within the isolated system of Easter Island.
I found this chapter absolutely fascinating. For me the real insights were the role of the political
system in the building of the giant stone statues that became Easter Island's biggest mystery when it
was discovered in 1722. There were hundreds of erect statues with no one there. Who built them? As
Diamond explains, it was the dozen clans that controlled the island who built them. "The clans
competed peacefully by seeking to outdo each other in building

Easter Island Collapse Essay

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