Andrew Martin Global Outlook Blogger

Why Societies Fail or Thrive?

Many people are conscious of the uncertainty that underlies our economic, social and environmental systems yet are unsure what to do.

This convergence of crisis is covered almost daily in our news media, with increased energy and food costs, economic ruin around the globe and civil unrest, yet the fundamentals underlying this uncertainty are often overlooked. The answer to our problem can be found in sustainable design and systems.

So what really is sustainability?

To be sustainable, the use of renewable resources must proceed at a rate that is less than or equal to that of natural replenishment.

Sustainability requires that substances introduced into the environment from human activities be minimised and rendered harmless to biosphere.

To be brutally honest, the human species is far from anywhere near being sustainable. Sustainability and living in harmony with each other and our planet is essential to our existence. As many past civilisations discovered, sustainability is crucial for survival. The unfettered exploitation of fossil fuels has added a layer of complexity to our economic, social and environmental systems, which is the cause of much of the instability both in environmental and economic circles.

In 2005 Jared Diamond a Pulitzer prize winner, scientist and author from UCLA, wrote an insightful book, aptly named Collapse, 'How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive”. Diamond outlines in great detail why previous societies have disappeared or collapsed. From his extensive research, experience and studies he developed a list of contributing factors that have led to the collapse of past civilisations.

He identified eight contributing environmental problems that have brought about the capitulation of societies. These include: deforestation and habitat destruction, soil problems (erosion, salinization, soil fertility losses), water management problems, overhunting, overfishing, effects of introduced species (predominately ruminant livestock), overpopulation and increased per-capita impact of people.

Diamond goes on to outline that today we face additional challenges that previous societies did not have to deal with. These man-made issues such as climate change, the build-up of toxins in the environment and energy shortages will be crucial in determining how much longer the human experience continues. It sounds dramatic and it is. Diamonds research and findings paint a very clear picture for what needs to be done for societies to avert collapse. It seems frighteningly obvious that we are heading headlong down the same track as many of these collapsed civilisations such as the Easter Islanders, Anasazi, Greenland's Norse and Mayan civilisations.

So why didn't anyone see these collapses coming?

Some did, although most were oblivious to any changes occurring. Diamond goes onto explain that the rulers of the day kept reassuring the citizens that everything would be ok, while they continued to prosper and enjoy the wealth and resources that were being depleted. Many people starved, wars broke out and diseases increased throughout the communities, until they eventually perished.

Another important point to note as to why most societies didn't see these collapses coming is a term aptly named ‘creeping normalcy'. Creeping Normalcy is a term used to describe the gradual way a major change can be accepted as the normal situation if it happens slowly, in unnoticed increments, when it would be regarded as objectionable if it took place in a single step or short period.

We see our political leaders and corporations allowing various ‘destructive practices' to occur for benefit of a few, while they justify this with ‘it is good for the economy”. The most obvious example of ‘creeping normalcy' we are currently witnessing is around the climate change debate.

The scientific evidence is overwhelming as we experience increasing extreme weather events, overall higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns, yet we continue on our merry way doing the same old things.

So how did other societies survive when others collapsed?

The civilisations that have averted collapse have had one thing in common, they have ensured plentiful forest environments and took care of the local natural systems. Massive reforestation projects were undertaken in an attempt to replenish the top soil and put back nutrients into ecosystems.

Many societies soon realised that trees were the lifeblood of the land. Compost for agriculture was no longer available once the trees were gone. Land birds disappeared and ecosystems went into terminal decline when forest regions disappeared.

Japan was suffering from over exploitation of forest environments and in 1582 implemented a strict preservation of forests that protected much of the country from being exploited by profiteering logging interests.

To this day approximately seventy five to eighty per cent of Japan is forested. It is interesting to compare this with New Zealand where approximately 70% of the native forests have been cleared since human inhabitation, leaving under 30% of the land in its original native state.

Another feature of successful societies is that they managed resources effectively and did not grow populations outside the nature's limits of natural replenishment. The Tikopians of the South West Pacific Islands realised introduced species such as livestock were more damaging to the environment and highly energy intensive to farm. They made a conscious decision to kill all the pigs on the island as they were consuming far more food and energy than they received by eating the pigs.

As we stand upon the edge of a new energy and global economic uncertainty it is hard to believe we are continuing on as if it were business as usual and not learning from the mistakes of our forefathers.

The definition of ‘farming' has to be examined as intensive livestock production on a finite resource is akin to discounting the future for short term profits. There has been no civilisation that has survived societal collapse that has practiced intensive farming, deforestation and unsustainable uses of natural resources like many Western countries are currently demonstrating.

There are alternatives to our current antiquated model of unsustainable farming and destructive practices. We need to think for ourselves and not accept the conventional version of doing things. There are exciting initiatives that are sustainable currently being taught, fostered and successfully practised throughout the world. These models help promote the sustainable use of resources, build local resilience in communities and go toward increasing bio diversity in ecosystems. I will outline in more detail next week some of the initiatives being practised that are changing the way people view the land and agriculture.

A.D. Martin is the author of ‘One ~ A Survival Guide for the Future…' (Available at Marbecks and Dymocks Tauranga). He publishes of an online blog that discusses economic, energy and environmental issues that will impact individuals and society over the coming years.

He now lives in New Zealand and helps educate people as to the risks and opportunities that will present society over the following decades.