Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
by Diamond, Jared
- Used
- as new
- Hardcover
- Condition
- As New/As New
- ISBN 10
- 0670033375
- ISBN 13
- 9780670033379
- Seller
-
New Port Richey, Florida, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Diamond identifies five factors that contribute to collapse: climate change, hostile neighbors, collapse of essential trading partners, environmental problems, and failure to adapt to environmental issues. He also lists 12 environmental problems facing mankind today. The first eight have historically contributed to the collapse of past societies: Deforestation and habitat destruction Soil problems (erosion, salinization, and soil fertility losses) Water management problems Overhunting Overfishing Effects of introduced species on native species Overpopulation Increased per-capita impact of people Further, he says four new factors may contribute to the weakening and collapse of present and future societies: Anthropogenic climate change Buildup of toxins in the environment Energy shortages Full human utilization of the Earth’s photosynthetic capacity Diamond also writes about cultural factors, such as the apparent reluctance of the Greenland Norse to eat fish. The root problem in all but one of Diamond's factors leading to collapse is overpopulation relative to the practicable (as opposed to the ideal theoretical) carrying capacity of the environment. The one factor not related to overpopulation is the harmful effect of accidentally or intentionally introducing nonnative species to a region. Diamond also states that "it would be absurd to claim that environmental damage must be a major factor in all collapses: the collapse of the Soviet Union is a modern counter-example, and the destruction of Carthage by Rome in 146 BC is an ancient one. It's obviously true that military or economic factors alone may suffice" (p. 15). Societal collapse Wavefunction collapse Collapse (Album), an album by the American metalcore band Across Five Aprils Collapse (medical) Collapse (structural) Collapse of the Soviet Union, the collapse of Soviet federalism Cave-in is a kind of structural collapse Collapse, the action a collapsible or telescoping object does Collapse (book) by Jared M.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Callaghan Books South (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 58192
- Title
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
- Author
- Diamond, Jared
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- New
- Jacket Condition
- As New
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 5th
- ISBN 10
- 0670033375
- ISBN 13
- 9780670033379
- Publisher
- Penguin Books
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2005
- Keywords
- Society Collapse
- Bookseller catalogs
- Science;
Terms of Sale
Callaghan Books South
About the Seller
Callaghan Books South
About Callaghan Books South
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....