James Moffett!● Must read “Collapse” by next week.● lectures focus on relationship between human population and carrying capacity of Earth.and how it affects the earth as a system.● Review: Humans have started to exceed nature’s ability to regenerate from mid-1980s onwards.● Why we’re reading “Collapse”○ not a book of the future, mostly focused on the past.○ will see how societies approach problems with natural capital that affect their survival.○ modern technology has offset many problems, but also created many.● Islands and Natural Capital○ why are river valleys. more “forgiving” than islands? How does the concept of natural capital help illustrate this concept?● Sustainability = ability of earth’s various systems (human cultural systems and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely). ● US environmental protection agency’s definition is more human-centric.● Natural Capital = natural resources and natural service○ Natural Resources■ Air■ Water■ Soil■ Land■ Life (Biodiversity)■ Non-renewable minerals■ Renewable energy■ Non-renewable energy○ Natural Services■ Air purification■ Water purification■ Water Storage■ Soil renewal■ Nutrient cycling■ Food Production■ Grassland and forest renewal■ Waste Treatment■ Pest Control○ (natural services basically enhance natural resources)● **It’s harder to make balance of resources in a smaller space● ex: Easter Island - small, remote○ thriving population 10,000+ people○ society ended abruptly 1600 AD○ incomplete statues embedded in quarry ○ stone-carrying tools left to lie○ roads in disrepair○ no one came to take over!○ “Collapse” how societies choose to succeed or fail○ Theory: society was directed inward in competition. chiefs did not gain stature by trading, rading, exploration, or colonization○ >cut down all trees, food supply for statue building.○ missing lagoon and coral reef.● to form a hypothesis about Easter Island, it’s good to find another island similar, as a “control” in your experiment.● Tikopia - society did not collapse○ high population 1,200 people for 3,000 years, on a mile long island.○ practice intensive system of agriculture○ lagoon, shellfish, easy catch● Greenland - collapse as result of too many cattle. ○ cattle, not right for climate. better: sheep, goats, ○ the island was a small cooling pad.● Contrast: Civilization of Nile Valley - ○ stayed same for 5,000 years, but ended because of external forces, not internal.○ also could have been more innovative than the pyramidsHW: Read Collapse by Jared Diamond, Prologue, Chapters 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and pg’s 286-293.also field