Essay on COllapse by Jared Diamond - 1070 Words

Although Greenland and Australia are thousands of miles apart and very different in geography, they also have many similarities. In his book â€Å"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†¦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 â€Å"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 hadShow MoreRelatedCollapse, By Jared Diamond1697 Words   |  7 Pages In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond gives you an in depth look at societies you may or may not be familiar with and shows you the secrets to their success or failure using his personal 5-point framework. I enjoyed this book and thought he made a lot of good points and had convincing evidence to back it up. While reading you could really tell he knew a lot about the areas he discussed because of the depth he went into with details and descriptions. One complaint I would have about the book is theRead MoreCollapse, By Jared Diamond1450 Words   |  6 PagesCOLLAPSE by Jared Diamond attempts to answer the question, â€Å"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 endlessRead MoreThe book Collapse by Jared Diamond973 Words   |  4 PagesBillion Chinese Jump). I hold out hope that we can change the global environmental problems we faced and make a difference. 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Even though societies today are more technologically advanced and the world has dramatically changed since ancient collapses, we must question collapse to effectively stop the same mistakes we made in the past from reoccurring, such as the ones made on Easter Island. The year is now 1200 CE. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies an island known as Rapa Nui or Easter Island. CiviliansRead MoreGun, Germs, And Steel By Jared Diamond1585 Words   |  7 PagesJared Diamond is a Geography professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has many fields of interest ranging from physiology to evolutionary biology and biogeography . Adding to that, Diamond also has published countless articles and authored multiple books. His most decorated book â€Å"Guns, Germs, and Steel†, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 and is widely regarded as a groundbreaking scientific work. In the prologue of â€Å"Collapse†, Jared Diamond claims that his previous book â€Å"Guns, GermsRead MoreThe World As Polder By Jared Diamond886 Words   |  4 PagesJared 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 indeedRead MoreCauses Of Collapse And Its Effects On The Worlds Most Remote Human Outposts1471 Words   |  6 Pagesisland subject to El Nino’s varying conditions (Hunt and Lipo 2007). 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