FREE ESSAY ON A REACTION TO CLIVE PONTING'S A GREEN HISTORY OF THE WORLD

A REACTION TO CLIVE PONTING'S A GREEN HISTORY OF THE WORLD

A Green History of the World has been very educational reading and has given me a new
prospective on the environment. While I do disagree with some of Clive Pointing's views I
have learned a lot from his work. A Green History of the World was a very in-depth look
at the past and the future of our environment. Pointing raised my consciousness regarding
the trials we face as inhabitants of this great planet and left me with some food for
thought.
After reading Chapter One I found myself entranced by the mystery of Easter Island and
excited about the information A Green History of the World had to offer. I had virtually
no understanding of Easter Island nor could I remember every being exposed to it in
school or any extracurricular reading. This chapter allowed me to become more open-minded
to Pointing's writings without giving up my own personal ideology and gave me an
understanding of Pointing's ideas about the environment. I was also able to explore
Easter Island in further detail.
Many thoughts ran through my mind speculating about the people of Easter Island, and this
left me with several unanswered questions. What really happened there? What factual
discoveries do we have to support the theories surrounding Easter Island? What other
Easter Island theories exist? Do people still live there? Have they been able to reclaim
any environmental nourishment for the land? Are plants and animals able to survive there
today? What happened to the statues built by the native Easter Islanders? Where is Easter
Island geographically located? How difficult is it to visit the island to day? I likely
came up with more questions than answers, but I craved any knowledge I could find about
this cabalistic place. So with modern technology at our finger tips, I searched the
Internet for information on Easter Island, and I was quite surprised to find that it has
its own web page. 
The Easter Island Home Page is full of fascinating information regarding everything from
the discovery of Easter Island to modern day life on the island. Though there are many
theories about Easter Island, in my opinion no one really knows exactly what happened
there. It seems to me that the more factual data we discovered the more questions we
create. I found it interesting that in a recent archeological discovery they found that
porpoises made up a large portion of the early inhabitants' diet, which means that they
would have had to have had some sort of "sea worthy" vessel in which to hunt this animal.
Remembering that when Easter Island was discovered the only boats that were found were
three small canoes (that were not sea worthy), they must have been previously equipped
with lager boats in order to hunt the porpoises. Another theory that I found particularly
entertaining was that extraterrestrial beings inhabited the island and were responsible
for the statues and their placement. Though I do not agree with all of the theories that
I read, I am still intrigued by Easter Island and after looking at the pictures of the
Island on the Internet I would like to travel there in the future. Easter Island is
located off the coast of Chile and it cost approximately $800.00 to fly there round trip
from Chile, but what an experience it would be. 
Throughout the book I found myself wandering why Pointing placed infuses on things like
giant rodents that had been hunted into extension (Pointing, 35). If these giant rodents
existed today we would probably be trying to get rid of them, so whose to say that the
first humans did not do us a favor. While I am positive that the hunting done by the
first humans caused us to lose large populations of majestic animals, the first humans
had to provide food, shelter, and clothing for themselves. What if the first humans had
not hunted or "raped the earth of its bounty. They would have likely starved to death and
then we would be the ones that were extinct. In my opinion God made humans the head of
the food chain, and gave us the superior knowledge and ability to provide for ourselves.
While it is unfortunate that the weaker species risk extension, if given the choice I
believe that any human would choose his or her own life over that of an animal, and would
realize the need to kill that animal in order to survive. 
Pointing used several quotations throughout the book that help to shine a light on the
mood of differing beliefs and views during certain time periods. One quote that would
probably be see as the exception to popular opinion of the time, was made by a Jewish
thinker Maimonides. He said "It should not be believed that all other beings exist for
the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all other beings, too have been
intended for their own sakes, and not for the sake of something else." (Pointing, 145) I
think that Maimonides has a point, though man would also be intended for his own sake in
which case he will need to provide for himself. Pointing also notes a quotation from the
Chief Seattle of the Squamish native American tribe who wrote to the President of the
United States the following: "...The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the
earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does
to the web, he does to himself." (Pointing, 153) Man may be merely a strand in the web of
the world, but is man any different from any other strand that would have to hunt another
strand for survival of its own. 
Pointing also illustrates ideas about the over population of the world, and the misuse of
natural resources. He makes note of the wealthy wasting resources in coherence with the
comfortable style of living they have become a custom to, while we have people starving
in third world countries that would kill for the food we give our live stalk. I assume he
is generally referring to the American lifestyle in these judgmental statements. I openly
acknowledge that Americans including myself are overwhelmingly wasteful, but we have also
made great compromises with the environment so that we can live in harmony one with
another. American corporations are strictly mandated to comply with environmental laws.
Farmers are educated about the nutritional values of the land and how to replenish them.
If you take a close look as you drive down any highway in Southeastern Georgia you will
come across green signs placed on large fields of trees, that read "We grow jobs." Union
Camp claims that they plant more trees than the cut down each year. With all of this, the
question still remains are we doing everything possible to ensure that we save the
ecosystem? I do not think we could even dream of claiming that at this point, but we have
advanced so much in the past fifty years and the future of the environment looks pretty
bright to me. We are always learning of new ways that each individual can make a
difference in the environment, and we as a group are striving to become a more
environmentally conscious society. 
In reference to Pointing's remarks about the over population of the world, I feel that he
is a bit of an alarmist. Pointing discuss the history of population control and states
that it has generally been ineffective. He also thinks that until we change our way of
thinking and attitudes towards what I see as one of our basic human rights, we will
continue to over populate the earth until it can no longer support us. This is so
frustrating to me and even sounds illogical. Why should we save the environment and focus
our time and money on making this world a better place to live, if we have no heirs to
inherit it. I understand that we should not bring more children into the world than we
are capable of supporting, but do not think we are truly endanger of reaching maximum
capacity. If you take a look at China a country that is considered to be largely over
populated, they have instituted strict law to limit the number of children allowed per
family. This seems to have created a society that dreads the birth of female children, to
the point where they are willing to kill a female infant in hopes that they maybe blessed
with a male infant the next time around. In this instance we become no greater than an
animal without a conscience. Perhaps we need to be more conscience of population growth,
but we should not compromise ourselves or the right of other in the process. 
While I found Clive Pointing's views of the environment and its history and future to be
interesting, I think that they are opinions and can and should be argued. This book
contained so many theories about the future and examples of the past it is almost
impossible to touch on everything that I felt was important. This book allowed me to open
my eyes and experience what the future might be like if we do not consider the past. I do
not think that we are looking at an "Easter Island Syndrome" for lack of better term,
though the Easter Islanders did not see the devastating environmental effects that their
misuse of resources until it was too late to do anything about it. 
In summary, I found A green History of the World to be a stimulating book, and I would
love to compare this book with one of contrasting opinions. As a conservative thinker you
might imagine that I was not thrilled about this reading assignment. A book entitled A
Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations, I
had many preconceived notions regarding its contents. The thought of being forced to read
what I prejudged as the typical environmentalist's argument regarding the state of the
world, angered me. After I finished the book I found that I agreed with Pointing more
than I ever would have expected. He make some very strong arguments and creates a vivid
image of what might become of the world if we do not do something to prevent its
destruction. I hope that as a society we can step back and take a look at these ongoing
processes, and determine if we are doing everything within our power to leave earth with
as few scars as possible.
Bibliography
Easter Island Home Page @ www.netaxs.com (This Internet site contains the research of
several authors regarding Easter Island along with other connections to Easter Island.