It seems that perhaps the primary cause for the rapid downfall of the Mayan civilization was ecological degradation. The Mayans built an advanced agricultural system that worked very well for a long time. But a curious thing began to happen. As the good favor of the gods was seen as being necessary for good harvests, they began a program of pyramid building to worship them better and curry their favor.
As city centers expanded, they built over the good farmland they has originally settled on. The growing population was pushed out onto the growing outskirts where they cut greater swathes of the forest and converted it to agriculture. A growing demand for wood as building material and for burning to make plaster for their pyramids accelerated this deforestation. Increasing deforestation meant that great amounts of topsoil was washed away by the rains. Decreased transpiration contributed to drought conditions. Their elaborate system of canals contributed to increased salinization of farmland.
For a while the population boomed. The city of Copan, for example, increased from 5,000 people to 28,000 over a period of 150 years. Overpopulation coupled with increasing signs of agrarian failure should have been a sign that there was something seriously wrong with their system and that it needed changing. The problem, though, was that the system contained a positive feedback loop that made it difficult for them to change.
The gods delivered greater harvests. Greater pyramids were needed to curry their favor. But ever greater pyramid building led to environmental degradation, which reduced harvests, which, in turn, led to the perceived need for even greater pyramids to appease the gods, etc.. It was a vicious cycle that simply could not be sustained. Rather than altering their behavior, they doubled down and accelerated it. The biggest pyramids were built in the years leading up to their collapse.
Copan reached 28,000 people by 800 CE and managed to maintain that population for about 100 years. But the downfall came very quickly. Within 50 years of that the population had been halved. By 1200 the site had been almost completely abandoned. The other great Mayan cities followed a similar pattern as their society collapsed from underneath them.
The curse of the Mayans is not in their calendar, but in the fact that even though we have their example to learn from (and many others), it appears that we are doomed to commit their same mistakes. For we find ourselves with a similar positive feedback loop, which we seem unable to deviate from.
Industrial agriculture, with its reliance on fossil fuels in the form of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is doing irreparable ecological harm around the world. Topsoil loss, land degradation, chemical pollution, loss of biodiversity, they are all contributing to an unsustainable agricultural system. But because that system has been so successful up to this point, it has led to a huge growth in population. Because we now have such a huge population, the perception is that we're locked into a reliance on industrialized agriculture. Any talk of changing our behavior is seen as sheer madness. There are already signs that we're teetering on the brink of collapse, but it appears that we either lack the political will to change, or that our economic elites have too great an interest in maintaining the status quo until it can no longer be sustained.
There is a saying that each time we learn from history, the price goes up. Our ecological malfeasance this time around is no longer contained to a specific region from which we can emigrate. It's worldwide. There's nowhere else to run. In their tombs, the Mayan ghosts are laughing at us. Our end may not come on December 31, but it will be only a matter of time at the rate we're going.
That is part of the argument put forward by Ronald Wright in his book A Short History of Progress. In it, he argues that many civilizations find themselves in what he calls 'progress traps' where they find something that works and then continue to stick with it long past the point where it has begun to drag them down. Some examples of this have been Ur, Easter Island, the Mayans and even Imperial Rome. We have all these examples warning of the fate that looms before us, but because we have wandered into our own progress trap, with its own positive feedback loop, it does not appear that we will be able to profit from past experience.
Originally posted by rwingettI'm more than confident President Obama has a plan for all this. In fact, as Darth Vader once said, "I find your lack of faith disturbing".
It seems that perhaps the primary cause for the rapid downfall of the Mayan civilization was ecological degradation. The Mayans built an advanced agricultural system that worked very well for a long time. But a curious thing began to happen. As the good favor of the gods was seen as being necessary for good harvests, they began a program of pyramid building ...[text shortened]... may not come on December 31, but it will be only a matter of time at the rate we're going.
Originally posted by rwingettI would add to that, gun ownership.
That is part of the argument put forward by Ronald Wright in his book A Short History of Progress. In it, he argues that many civilizations find themselves in what he calls 'progress traps' where they find something that works and then continue to stick with it long past the point where it has begun to drag them down. Some examples of this have been ...[text shortened]... ositive feedback loop, it does not appear that we will be able to profit from past experience.
Originally posted by whodeyDrastically reform our agricultural practices for one. Break the back of Monsanto. For other suggestions, you can revisit my Pantheism thread in the spirituality forum.
How much is it worth to ya?
So what is your suggestion as to what should be done about the coming doom and gloom?