Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay
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Imagine a polynesian island, as remote as Hawaii or Easter Island. It has a reasonable variety of natural foods, plus animals and plants imported by the natives. The natives have learned to keep their population within limits that don't overtax the ecosystem, and do not overexploit their resources. It has just one major problem. The natives need good stone for axe heads and knife blades. There is no other island they can travel to for a supply, and their island has just a tiny outcrop of volcanic rock protruding from an otherwise flat sand and coral island.
The islanders are as careful and conscientious as they can be, but tools get lost or broken, and they have to quarry the outcrop for replacements. And the outcrop shrinks. They recycle as efficiently as they can. They gather up chips of broken stone and develop microlith technology, gluing chips of stone to shafts to make cutting tools. But inevitably, stone is lost through attrition. Microscopic flakes wear off. With only a finite supply of stone available, eventually it must run out.
Is our own civilization sustainable? In the short run, the answer is no. Population growth - energy
But let's assume we somehow limit ourselves to a sustainable population and develop energy sources .
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Created 18 July 2008; Last Update 24 May, 2020
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