A Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations

A study of world civilizations, from Sumeria to Ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire of pre-Columbian North America and tiny Easter Island, that argues that over and over again, human beings have built societies that have grown and prospered by exploiting the Earth's resources, only to expand to the point where those resources could no longer sustain the societies' populations, and subsequently collapse. In this context, the collapse of Rome has vital importance for our modern global civilization. Destructive environmental behaviour today takes place on a scale much greater than in previous times, and the results will be similarly multiplied. This book, calmly and sanely, argues for an increased realization of the finite nature of our resources, and the impact on our world should we continue squandering those resources.