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<blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 5337984" data-attributes="member: 40177">Right!&nbsp; Like those wise people on Easter island!&nbsp; When they saw what they were doing, they put a stop to things, and all lived happily ever.... oh... wait.Sorry, I couldn't help myself.Easter Island is in the Pacific, and you can basically look at the society as this:&nbsp; they were alone in the ocean - no one could leave, and no one new showed up.&nbsp; They had an entirely insular culture, and it was one where the priesthood got more and more power.&nbsp; They started building these huge stone idols to venerate gods/spirits/Steve Irwin/whatever.&nbsp; To build these stones, it took a lot of manpower - and wood.&nbsp; But they built them for reasons of prestige over other tribal groups, and probably because they seriously believed those stone idols were protecting them.But Easter island is not that large, and they could clearly see that they were deforesting their land building these stones.&nbsp; WIthout wood, they cannot build boats, tools, or things that help them fish (their primary means of subsistence).&nbsp; Plus, no forests means no large game, so less food there, too!&nbsp; And they weren't stupid - they had to know this.And yet, even though they could see their entire island from the highest point, they still cut down the trees.&nbsp; In fact, when they realized there was an ecological crisis, the pace at which they created these huge stone idols actually increased.&nbsp; And when they saw that there was only one tree left, only one tree that could possibly, one day, reforest their island.... they still cut it down to make their stone idols. Any other pacific islander culture you want to look at can be seen in a smaller vein, but it isn't necessarily about realizing they need to be sustainable - it's about group dynamics and cross-pollination of peoples.&nbsp; And European reforestation has been going on for centuries before the 1700s.&nbsp; Look at many of the forests in Germany, France, and England, where every tree in the &quot;Forest&quot; is part of long rows.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wik, post: 5337984, member: 40177"] Right! Like those wise people on Easter island! When they saw what they were doing, they put a stop to things, and all lived happily ever.... oh... wait. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Easter Island is in the Pacific, and you can basically look at the society as this: they were alone in the ocean - no one could leave, and no one new showed up. They had an entirely insular culture, and it was one where the priesthood got more and more power. They started building these huge stone idols to venerate gods/spirits/Steve Irwin/whatever. To build these stones, it took a lot of manpower - and wood. But they built them for reasons of prestige over other tribal groups, and probably because they seriously believed those stone idols were protecting them. But Easter island is not that large, and they could clearly see that they were deforesting their land building these stones. WIthout wood, they cannot build boats, tools, or things that help them fish (their primary means of subsistence). Plus, no forests means no large game, so less food there, too! And they weren't stupid - they had to know this. And yet, even though they could see their entire island from the highest point, they still cut down the trees. In fact, when they realized there was an ecological crisis, the [b]pace at which they created these huge stone idols actually [i]increased[/i][/b]. And when they saw that there was only one tree left, only one tree that could possibly, one day, reforest their island.... they still cut it down to make their stone idols. Any other pacific islander culture you want to look at can be seen in a smaller vein, but it isn't necessarily about realizing they need to be sustainable - it's about group dynamics and cross-pollination of peoples. And European reforestation has been going on for centuries before the 1700s. Look at many of the forests in Germany, France, and England, where every tree in the "Forest" is part of long rows. [/QUOTE]

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