Island Civilization: Summary and Response

Roderick Nash begins this essay by speaking about millenniums; he says what exactly they are and how they came to be. He then ties together millenniums and wilderness and civilization. Nash continues to say that the purpose for his essay is to go over the history between humans and nature and how it will turn out in the Fourth Millennium.

Nash explains that his idea involves dramatic changes in the world and in humans especially, but he explains that Island Civilization is possible and is a topic that needs more discussion in order to progress the thought. The purpose of his essay is to kick-start a discussion of how to change the Earth for the better before it is too late. He asks the readers to consider the word ‘wilderness’ and explains that it “literally means self-willed land,” land that is untouched by humans. Humans depended on growing a civilization rather than survival skills in order to stay alive. Nash explains that the reason for doing so, especially when colonists arrived in the New World, was because the Bible cursed ‘wilderness’ due to Adam and Eve’s punishment of being banished to the wild.

Nash continues his argument that turns into an explanation of ecology. He also mentions the Protection Act and Endangered Species Act that allowed other species to have the rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness just as humans do. Nash explains that humans are not the only creatures that are occupy the planet; therefore other species should have the right to wilderness just as humans have the right to civilization. Towards the end of his argument, he mentions possible outcomes by the time the Fourth Millennium rolls around; they are the wasteland scenario, garden scenario, future primitive, and island civilization. Each one is explained, and he points out that island civilization seems to be the best choice. In order to bring island civilization about, humans must learn self-restraint and put Earth before them. Nash believes island civilization will be possible by using our knowledge of technology in good ways.

Nash’s essay was an extremely detailed report on wildlife and human interaction with nature. There were many fascinating facts that I had not known, such as the four possible outcomes Earth may end in. I do agree with Nash in saying that island civilization does sound the best when compared to a wasteland, or manmade garden with no wildlife, or even backtracking to a more primitive state. Island civilization sounds best because it is combining the human need to build and be civilized while keeping the earth pure and untouched.

Island civilization would mean limiting humans to confined spaces and letting Earth flourish and the animals return to their homes in the wild. It would also allow humans to learn basic survival skills if they should decide to leave the civilization and travel into the wilderness. While all that sounds fantastic, there are some concerns that I have. Obviously, predators would return to the land; any human that walked into the wilderness would be endangering their life by crossing into the wild. It would be especially dangerous for children to travel alone. When the time comes to make a decision on which path Earth should follow, if island civilization is the choice, a very well thought out plan of security and protection for the lives of humans would need to be considered before finalizing any decisions.

Another problem that arises is the idea that the human population would have to be brought down to 1.5 billion. Nash states that “one version…might mandate that 1.5 billion people live in five hundred concentrated habitats scattered widely over Earth.” 1.5 billion is, according to Nash, roughly a quarter of the current population. This would have to be done within the next about nine-hundred years, and I am not sure that is possible to do. Nash believes it is achievable if people put Earth above themselves. However, more than likely that will not be done and there will be even more people in the future than now. If a successful, safe, and thoroughly thought out course of action was brought to the table in order to fix this issue, island civilization would be possible.