Ökologische Katastrophe führte zum Untergang

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31 July 2006, Emma Young, Magazine issue 2562
The story of ecological disaster on Easter Island seems to confirm our worst fears about human hubris, but is it really a morality tale for our time?

It is a familiar tale of greed, stupidity and self-destruction. For hundreds of years the inhabitants of one of the most remote islands on Earth vied with each other to build ever more impressive statues, pillaging their resources to feed their obsession. Ecological disaster was inevitable. As the island's last tree was felled, the society collapsed into a holocaust of internecine warfare, starvation and cannibalism. Rival clans toppled each other's statues. Armed with deadly obsidian-tipped spears, the workers rose up against their rulers. The vanquished were either enslaved or eaten.
This version of events on Easter Island has become not only received wisdom, but a dark warning about a possible fate for our entire planet. "The parallels between Easter Island ...