Jared Diamond of ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ on Civilization’s Collapse, Ecology and Technology

Linus Pauling Memorial Lecture Series, 2004. “Diamond applies what he’s learned about the past to humanity’s future. He’s certain that his question is the world’s question: How are we going to cope with our current human population explosion which we must consider in combination with today’s enormously destructive technology? We can ignore what’s going on, struggle through a terrible time when scarce resources fuel monumental conflicts made all the more horrific by advanced technology and, in the end, survive as we did 50,000 years ago. Or we can learn from our mistakes and survive as civilized society. The answer, according to Dr. Diamond, is up for grabs. And we’ll know in 40 to 80 years.” He said that in 2004. http://www.isepp.org/Pages/03-04%20Pa…

“Many human societies have anticipated, perceived, tried to solve, or succeeded in solving their environmental problems. For example, the Inca Empire, New Guinea Highlanders, 18th-century Japan, 19th-century Germany, and the paramount chiefdom of Tonga all recognized the risks that they faced from deforestation, and all adopted successful reforestation or forest management policies.”

Related:

Can Guns, Germs, and Steel Explain Human History?

Does African History Disprove Jared Diamond’s Theory That Guns, Germs and Steel Explain Western Dominance?

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