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Easter Island in the Pacific provides a cautionary example. When Europeans first landed there in 1722, they found 3,000 Polynesians living in extremely primitive conditions on the island amid the remnants of a once flourishing culture. The story of Easter Island is one of ecological collapse that began around the year 1600, when a swollen population of 7,000 stripped the island of trees, depriving inhabitants of building materials for fishing boats and housing. As the populace retreated to caves, various clans warred over resources, then enslaved and later cannibalized the vanquished. By the time Europeans arrived, the beleaguered survivors had forgotten the purpose of the great stone heads erected during Easter Island's glory days.
The tropical island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean presents a more hopeful case study, according to environmental historian Richard Grove of Cambridge University. Mauritius is nearly as densely peopled as Bangladesh, yet manages to support healthy ecosystems and a booming economy. Nearly 200 years ago, the island's French settlers became alarmed by the cutting of ebony forests that caused severe erosion and had led to the extinction of the dodo bird. By the end of the 18th century, the locals had developed a full set of environmental controls, including strict limits on tree cutting. In recent years, Mauritius has launched a successful education effort to stabilize population growth. The country now ranks among the most prosperous in Africa. "I would be much less pessimistic about the future if the rest of the world could act like Mauritius," says Grove.
The world no longer has the leisure of the two centuries Mauritius took to develop a conservation ethic. In the past, natural forces shaped the environment. Now, unless a new round of volcanism erupts worldwide or a comet courses in from outer space, human activities will govern the destiny of earth's ecosystems. It may soon be within human power to produce the republics of grass and insects that writer Jonathan Schell believed would be the barren legacy of nuclear war. If humanity fails to seek an accord with nature, population control may be imposed involuntarily by the environment itself. Is there room for optimism? Yes, but only if one can imagine the people of 2050 looking back at the mad spasm of consumption and thoughtless waste in the 20th century as an aberration in human history.