AWOL - Collapse Assignment 1

In the Easter Island reading, I thought it was interesting how the islanders "owned no cranes, no wheels, no machines, no metal tools, no draft animals, and no means other than human muscle power to transport and raise the statues" (Collapse - Page 1). The thought of having no use of machines that involves the use of oil-the fundamental base of the world's economy-to survive seems possible for the fact that other places/countries, like Easter Island, have survived for a great amount of years without the use of oil-machinery. Researchers "found that 50 to 70 people, working five hours per day and dragging the sled five yards at each pull, could transport an averaged-sized 12-ton statue nine miles in a week" (Collapse - Page 6). Easter Island's civilization differentiates from the way we live our life in America or other countries who are technologically more advanced by being extremely dependent on the use of computers, television, transportation vehicles: cars, trains, planes, boats, in order to survive in the world. Although Polynesians and other native islanders in the past were reliant on boats and possibly the use of wagons, never has it occurred to them to use oil to fuel boats and other transportation vehicles until the mid 1800s. At this point, it has made me question if our civilization would be any different to Easter Island's civilization.


The Polynesians have had a successful way of living until the "Easter Islanders got into difficulties, there was nowhere to which they could flee, not to which they could turn for help; no shall modern Earthlings have resource elsewhere if our troubles increase" (Collapse - Page 13). Aside from having the lack of resources to provide for the Polynesian community, the people-in my opinion-were not exactly aware of having a collapse anytime soon. As disagreements were being made about leaders and the sizes of their statues, the island as a whole started to disintegrate, causing many Polynesians to kill each other as well. Imagine our civilization as it was hundreds of years ago when America was limited to just traveling by horse or by wagon--with a horse, or a boat with sails. Obviously, as the years progressed, America's technology has grown til this day, but lets say that America was as limited as it was on Easter Island. If you place a handful of America's Government, a huge handful of American citizens & 'undocumented' people, and a couple of animals, what kind of society would 'mini-America' become? & lets also substitute the Easter Island statues with monuments of presidents past. Honestly, the collapse of 'mini-America' would be just as similar to how the Polynesians collapsed. Although they were not exactly aware of killing off every living thing that was on the island by cutting down trees and killing people, their only purpose of doing so was in order to survive and to show their disapproval of their way of living under leaders and their religion. The Polynesians did not PURPOSELY kill off everything to produce some kind of 'new economic growth'--as America would call it. 'Mini-America', on the other hand, would have ignorantly cause a collapse by corrupting every living person on the island to supply and serve the 'government' that is placed on the island---keep in mind that the people on 'mini-America' have no use of any kind of modern technology. Because the people of 'mini-America' are not able to adapt to 'the wild'--as many would call it, civilization will slowly come to an end unless a compromise is made, which of course, with America, it is less likely to happen.

"Thanks to globalization, international trade, jet planes, and the internet, all countries on Earth today share resources and affect each other, just as did Easter's dozen clans" (Collapse - Page 13).