The reasons for the collapse of the civilizations of the Easter Islanders, the Norsemen, the Mayans, plus several groups in the southwestern US, are all gone into. Often the real reasons are unclear, and Diamond is honest enough to admit this. But ecological factors are suspected of having contributed in almost all cases.
China gets a chapter to itself. Many figures are given, including that its washing-machine output in the last 20 years has increased by 34,000 times. The country exhibits unparalleled levels of air pollution, biodiversity loss, cropland loss, desertification, disappearing wetlands, grassland degradation, invasive species, overgrazing, salinization, soil erosion, trash accumulation, water pollution and -- wait for it -- river flow cessation. If China succeeds in achieving First World status, Diamond asserts, the global-wide human impact on the environment will be doubled, while it remains doubtful if even at present levels that impact can be sustained much longer.
Consider again the problem of cars. The world, with certain unfortunate exceptions, is committed to reducing carbon emissions. Yet the inhabitants of emerging nations such as China are not going to be deprived of an amenity that their affluent neighbors in the West have long enjoyed. On top of that, the world's population, including its potentially car-purchasing population, continues to rise. China is expected to contribute 40 percent of the world's carbon dioxide (car-exhaust) emissions by 2050. Do people really believe global totals of these emissions are going to go down?
What is needed is action at national levels on a massive scale. But awareness-raising among populations, which books like this contribute to, is a crucial factor too. There are few things politicians fear more than voter single-issue solidarity. But how big is, for example, Taiwan's Ecology Party?
This is a very good book, an invaluable overview of the world's environmental history and current problems. Naturally Diamond's expertise varies from location to location, but he is both well-traveled and well-read. Above all, he's highly readable. Anyone concerned about the fate of life on this planet should consider the implications of the findings presented in Collapse. And because the future is in the hands of the young, every school library should invest in a copy.
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