A Tale of Two Farms:Jared Diamond

In A Tale Of Two Farms, Diamond discusses the collapses of past societies due to a variety of reasons. This passage was similar to that of Lester Brown in Plan B 4.0 . They both discuss how food shortages have a negative impact on the population. However, Diamond's passage was not as "gloomy" and "scary" to read. The whole symbolism behind comparing the two farms was to show that not one community is safer than another when it comes to thriving and surviving.  Environmental consequences can effect anyone.

The past offers us a rich database from which we can learn, in order that we may keep on succeeding" (Diamond, p. 17).

 

 http://timpeters.org/general/to-go-forwards-go-backwards/
 

This reminds me of what my mom always tells me. She always tells me that in order for us to move forward in life, we must learn from our past. This correlates to what the environment and what Diamond is trying to say in various ways. For instance, if we take what we have learned from extinct species and how we as a whole have played a role in the extinction, we can prevent future species from becoming extinct. Or if we look at how past societies have made mistakes and have suffered, we can learn from what they've done and prevent it from happening to us. The main point here is that we should learn from the past, in order to build a brighter future. I think the problem in our society is environmentally wise, is that we know the consequences of our actions, we just do not use our "database" wisely. We know that pollution, deforestation, habitat destruction are some of the problems we have had in the past, but no action is really taken. If we really want to make a change in the future, we need to analyze carefully the past mistakes and plan accordingly to better ourselves.

 

" Consequences for society included food shortages, starvation, wars among too many people fighting for too few resources, and overthrows of governing elites by disillusioned masses" (Diamond,p.21)

 

 

Unfortunately, we are already seeing some of these consequences today. From starvation in Africa, to the rise in tension on the source of our oil. History is repeating itself, and unfortunately we are hurting ourselves in the long run. Eventually, if we do not stop our unsustainable practices, it will be too late. We need to come to a compromise, and use the limited resources we have carefully, especially with the growth of population we are seeing. 

http://en.africatime.com/zimbabwe/articles/un-agency-says-22-mln-zimbabweans-face-food-shortages






Many people fear that ecocide has now come to overshadow nuclear war and emerging diseases as a threat to global civilization" (Diamond, p.22)

To be honest, I never heard of the term "ecocide" before I took this class. But, I put the pieces together. " Eco" refers to the environment and "cide" means to kill or harm. So together it means the killing of the environment. I agree with this statement. I think many people are now aware that our environment is in danger, and ultimately is one of the biggest issues we are facing today. Everywhere I go, I'm seeing something that has to do with preserving our environment. From "eco" friendly vehicles, to purses made out of recycled juice boxes. The awareness is evident, people are afraid of what the consequences of ecocide are, therefore are taking action.

 

 http://commissioningsuccess.com/2012/09/revised-eu-energy-agreement-avoids-annual-70-million-bill-for-nhs/eco-friendly/