Damn Tree Huggers
I’m reading Jared Diamond’s “Collapse†'How societies choose to fail or succeed' and came across this thought.
What did the Easter Islander who cut down the last palm tree say while he was ding it? Like modern loggers, did he shout “Jobs, not trees!â€? Or: “Technology will solve our problems, never fear, we’ll find a substitute for woodâ€? Or: “We don’t have proof that there aren’t palms somewhere else on Easter, we need more research, your proposed ban on logging is premature and driven by fear-mongering!â€.
Not long after that last palm was cut the remaining Easter Islanders resorted to cannibalism.