51
can have the right to graze, how many cows,
overgrazing is inevitable. Owners will think: If I
drive fewer cattle afield today to save the grass
someone else will utilise the grass. The grazing
land will be exhausted anyway thus voluntary
sacrifice is pointless. If the community of the village makes the decision too late the grass will
completely disappear.
Such tragedy in the history of humans was, for
example, the killing of the terrestrial megafauna
at the end of the Pleistocene and the overfishing
of marine fish since the end of the twentieth century threatens with the same result.
The decision maker elite especially inclined to
rational behaviour from their own point of view
against the rest of the society when the consequences of the decisions have no effects on them
or these are not recognised by them. Actions of
kings, leaders and politicians concerned only
with themselves resulted in collapse as often as
not. From Mayan kings via Viking leaders to the
attack of Japanese at Pearl Harbor (ending finally
in the defeat of Japan) Tuchman (1984) and
Diamond (2005). According to Tuchman the primary reason of the foolish political decisions was
thirst for power. Mayan Kings and chieftains in
Easter Islands cleared their forests to raise their
own prestige and power with more and more
impressive monuments.
Sometimes the decision makers make decisions
that are advantageous to no one. Most often irrational decisions and acts according to religious
values and beliefs with deep roots lead to collapse.
For example, the huge stone sculptures of
Polynesian people had religious functions and
tress had to be cut for their formation. (This process was also supported by the thirst for power of
the chieftains.) The Christian conviction of Vikings
strengthened their adherence to a lifestyle developed for a different environment. They did not
apply the traditions of the Eskimos who accommodated well to the cold environment and adhered
to the lifestyle of the Christian Europe which was
not appropriate for their new environment.
Not only adherence to religious values but
adherence to any traditions hindering accommodation to a new environment or new processes
may lead to the collapse of a social system in the
long term.
According to Diamond environmental protection is difficult in developed countries in the
twenty-first century because the public opinion is
still dominated by the consumer ideology of the
twentieth century. An important lesson is that the
revision of traditional values and customs could
be necessary for the society to survive.
Nowadays the society reached a point where
global environmental problems force the extensive revision of values more than ever as will be
seen in the following chapters.
2.6.5 A Homomorphic Earth Model
As it was mentioned before the Earth is a very
complex system the operation of which cannot be
simulated with is fully realistic models by science. It was presented in this book, however, that
natural scientists created successful global models of the subsystems (PREM model, new geodynamic model, climate simulation models, world
models) that simulate rather well numerous
global processes and are suitable in their present
form to estimate the effects of the human society
on the environment of the Earth and also the
feedbacks of environmental changes.
In the followings a global homomorphic
(including the relationships of only the major
system elements) graphic system model is presented. Our aim is to demonstrate the different
qualities of interactions between the society and
its environment and to emphasize the changes in
quality caused by humans on Earth already that
had consequences both advantageous and disadvantageous to humanity.
Interactions are marked in three different ways
in Fig. 2.24. Natural effects are directed from the
natural spheres of the environment towards the
society. Limited direct natural effects suggest
limitations wither in time or space. For example,
volcanic eruptions or earthquakes belong to here
that often occur after long periods of inactivity
and mostly limited in space as well. (Certain volcanic eruptions could have global effects though.)
2.6 Earth Models, “World Models”
can have the right to graze, how many cows,
overgrazing is inevitable. Owners will think: If I
drive fewer cattle afield today to save the grass
someone else will utilise the grass. The grazing
land will be exhausted anyway thus voluntary
sacrifice is pointless. If the community of the village makes the decision too late the grass will
completely disappear.
Such tragedy in the history of humans was, for
example, the killing of the terrestrial megafauna
at the end of the Pleistocene and the overfishing
of marine fish since the end of the twentieth century threatens with the same result.
The decision maker elite especially inclined to
rational behaviour from their own point of view
against the rest of the society when the consequences of the decisions have no effects on them
or these are not recognised by them. Actions of
kings, leaders and politicians concerned only
with themselves resulted in collapse as often as
not. From Mayan kings via Viking leaders to the
attack of Japanese at Pearl Harbor (ending finally
in the defeat of Japan) Tuchman (1984) and
Diamond (2005). According to Tuchman the primary reason of the foolish political decisions was
thirst for power. Mayan Kings and chieftains in
Easter Islands cleared their forests to raise their
own prestige and power with more and more
impressive monuments.
Sometimes the decision makers make decisions
that are advantageous to no one. Most often irrational decisions and acts according to religious
values and beliefs with deep roots lead to collapse.
For example, the huge stone sculptures of
Polynesian people had religious functions and
tress had to be cut for their formation. (This process was also supported by the thirst for power of
the chieftains.) The Christian conviction of Vikings
strengthened their adherence to a lifestyle developed for a different environment. They did not
apply the traditions of the Eskimos who accommodated well to the cold environment and adhered
to the lifestyle of the Christian Europe which was
not appropriate for their new environment.
Not only adherence to religious values but
adherence to any traditions hindering accommodation to a new environment or new processes
may lead to the collapse of a social system in the
long term.
According to Diamond environmental protection is difficult in developed countries in the
twenty-first century because the public opinion is
still dominated by the consumer ideology of the
twentieth century. An important lesson is that the
revision of traditional values and customs could
be necessary for the society to survive.
Nowadays the society reached a point where
global environmental problems force the extensive revision of values more than ever as will be
seen in the following chapters.
2.6.5 A Homomorphic Earth Model
As it was mentioned before the Earth is a very
complex system the operation of which cannot be
simulated with is fully realistic models by science. It was presented in this book, however, that
natural scientists created successful global models of the subsystems (PREM model, new geodynamic model, climate simulation models, world
models) that simulate rather well numerous
global processes and are suitable in their present
form to estimate the effects of the human society
on the environment of the Earth and also the
feedbacks of environmental changes.
In the followings a global homomorphic
(including the relationships of only the major
system elements) graphic system model is presented. Our aim is to demonstrate the different
qualities of interactions between the society and
its environment and to emphasize the changes in
quality caused by humans on Earth already that
had consequences both advantageous and disadvantageous to humanity.
Interactions are marked in three different ways
in Fig. 2.24. Natural effects are directed from the
natural spheres of the environment towards the
society. Limited direct natural effects suggest
limitations wither in time or space. For example,
volcanic eruptions or earthquakes belong to here
that often occur after long periods of inactivity
and mostly limited in space as well. (Certain volcanic eruptions could have global effects though.)
2.6 Earth Models, “World Models”