Green World History: Environment and the Decline of Great Civilizations

Author: (British) Pang Ting
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-08-01
Features: Why did Rome collapse? Historian Clive Ponting argues in this important work that the answer to this question holds urgent implications for our modern global civilization. The Roman Empire, with its population growth and advancements in technological complexity, ultimately exhausted its abundant natural resources and faced the inevitable ecological collapse of its society. Ponting demonstrates how this story repeats throughout human history and across the world—from Sumer to ancient Egypt, to pre-Columbian North America, to the small island of Easter Island. Humans have prospered by exploiting various resources on Earth. This book is filled with exciting and highly illuminating details, and its arguments are calm and rational, compelling us to view the essence of history with fresh eyes.