Hello Doomsday, My Old Friend

This article is very interesting to me, in regards to the history and current examples given of societies that have collapsed and could possibly collapse that exist today. I feel like this is an issue that we need to be very weary of, and learn as much as we can from these civilizations. To take the information and apply it to what we are doing today, is some of the most valuable information we can obtain. As a culture right now, it seems like we have been so lucky with our "successes'' for such a long, it just seems like it is a matter of time that we experience the same fate as those who came before us. For example, the people of Easter Island were blessed with very fruitful land, but with time people began to misuse the lands, and eventually cut down all the trees. This disregard for the land, later led to the downfall of their island. This circumstance sounds very similar to what is happening today. People are having total disregard for the land, and need to be for careful of what they are doing to it before its too late. At the end of the article, Sumner leaves us with some gleaming bit of hope. Before all was lost on the island, the people went through a renewal. They learned how to live in balance with the land by "rationing and distributing the island's limited resources"(245). Through this experience they came out of the situation in a better position, in a way. Sumner writes how this is also possible for us. Before it is too late, we can change our ways and live in ways that are more harmonious with our environment through developing new technologies and habits that are eco-friendly.