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Article:

Have you ever heard the true story of Easter Island in the South Pacific?

It's a hair-raising tale of people and nature, disaster and survival that the human species must learn from to avoid making the same mistakes on a global scale.

Picture a lush, green little island, settled in the 5th century AD by a handful of neighboring migrants. It was Eden itself with tropical trees, fertile soil, pure spring water and surrounded by abundant seafood.

As centuries passed, the human population swelled to about 10,000 people -- a lot for only 103 square kilometers.

Rival clans evolved, competing to erect large (up to 20-metre) stone statues of their ancestors. They began cutting down the island's trees for timber to move the statues.

The Easter Islanders took essential natural resources for granted.

By 1400, they had cut down the last tree. Without vegetation, the rich soil just blew away. Crops failed, there was no timber to build fishing boats or house roofs -- and there was no way out.

Famine led to wars over the remaining scraps, and only a few survivors remained by the time Europeans arrived in 1722.

The same story -- of unchecked population growth, overconsumption of natural resources, environmental destruction and faith in ideology over facts can be found in the rise and fall of civilizations from the Incas in Peru to the Sumerians in the Middle East.

Often, the survivors tried to relocate.

But today, we are repeating the experiment on a worldwide scale.

A global scientific report recently predicted if we continue destructive fishing practices there will be no fish left at all by 2048.

And a recent report by the head of the British economic service, Nicholas Stern, estimated as much as $9 trillion per year -- 20 per cent of the world's GDP -- will be lost by 2050 if we do not take steps to curb climate change.

We stand on a threshold, and the consequences are in our lifetimes.

But we are not doomed to an Easter Island-style fate. We know what happened to those other civilizations.

As global citizens sharing a common humanity, we are educated, we can communicate, we have the Internet.

We can and must understand the pattern, and choose differently, if we are to avoid global human disaster.

This means a significant shift in our mindset.

First, we must realize that our ecosystems -- the carbon, nutrient and water cycles, all the other species -- are not some sort of esthetic luxuries for "environmentalists" who choose to take an interest.

We humans are also animals, and part of the web of life and the food chain.

We need the survival of the other plant and animal species in order to breathe and eat so, ultimately, we share a common fate.

We must all be "environmentalists."

Second, we need to think differently about other people.

Instead of being like the competitive clans of Easter Island, we can focus on our common ground.

Whether we are black, white, Christian or Muslim, as a human species, we face a common threat of ecological -- and societal -- collapse.

Recognizing our common humanity, we can begin to work together on the problems.

Third, this means both commitment and political or civic engagement.

For me, this has involved personal steps such as exchanging my SUV for a VW Golf (no regrets, by the way) and supporting sustainability organizations.

We can rise above choosing the ideological left or right, and instead support any politician or party who will address human survival issues such as climate change and the erosion of our natural capital.

It is also time for each of us to stop being afraid, and instead to act out of our best selves and our deepest principles, to take our own small share in the team.

As a species, we have the capacity to communicate, pull together, and act to save ourselves.

That time is now.

Question:

How would the implementation of sustainable practices (to achieve sustainable development) have changed the outcome at Easter Island?

Use the internet to research various sustainable practices that could have been applied in the case of Easter Island. Provide your answer in sentences or using jot points. Be prepared to discuss your answers with the class