SOCECOL E8 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Habitat Destruction, Moai, Waste Management
20 Jul 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Professor Zanotto/Whiteley
Social Ecology E8
Course Code: 50000
4 units
Lecture
● Collapse
○ What are the elements of Ecological Suicide?
■ Deforestation and habitat destruction
■ Soil problems
■ Waste management problems
■ Over-hunting
■ Over fishing
■ Effects of introduce species on native species
■ Human population growth
■ Increased peoples per capita impact
○ What elements led to the collapse of Easter Island?
■ Deforestation
■ Moai construction
■ Habitat destruction
■ Lack of resources to build canoes
■ Food scarcity
■ Isolated island
■ War and cannibalism
○ What elements led to the collapse of the Maya?
■ Elaborate constructions
■ Overpopulation
■ Over farming
■ Prolonged drought
■ Deforestation (removal of a forest which is then converted to a non-forest
use)
■ Crops failed
■ Violent warfare and political decline
■ Populations abandoned their cities
○ What are the elements of Jared Diamond’s 5 point framework for explaining why
societies have collapsed?
■ Failure to anticipate a problem
● Example: maya did not foresee that deforestation of the hill slopes
would trigger soil erosion into the valleys
■ Failure to perceive a problem that has arrived
● Soil nutrient depletion
■ Failure to attempt to solve a problem (rational)
● Clash of interests
○ Good for me, bad for everyone else
■ Failure to attempt to solve a problem (irrational)
● Disastrous values
