Easter Island

Last night I got told for the first time about Easter Island (in the south Pacific ocean). I found it to be so interesting that I found some video clips to learn some more.......

The island has 887 moai statues on the island which are made out of compressed volcanic ash (from it's extinct volcano) and took 5-6 men one year to hand carve by using stone chisels. These statues represented human figures of the islands ancestors and were built between the years 1250 and 1500. They have overly large heads that are three-fiths the size of their bodies.
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Between 1722 and 1868 the statues were toppled (face down) by the islanders. This is thought to be due to the deadly conflict between the once harmonious islanders.

During the time that the statues were made and erected the island was a growing and thriving community. The island was covered mainly by rain forest, the soil was rich & furtile and the ocean provided plenty of fish.

During the time that the statues were toppled the majority of the trees had been felled (it's wood over used by it's people) there was heavy soil erosion (mainly due to over farming and the lack of trees) and 5 species of birds became extinct, again due to the lack of tree's. The fish supply had started to disappear too. These facts helped push the islands into conflict and into disregard for their traditions.

By the 19th Century only 100 or so natives had survived the strong waves of attacks, widespread diseases and destruction.

The island provides us a stark example of what could happen if we do not respect the circle of life or the natural resources that mother nature gave us.

....obviously tree's for example help us breath (by cleaning the air of carbon dioxide), they keep the soil rich and furtile, they help maintain a healthy Eco system (animal, insect, bacterial life, etc) - by thoughtlessly felling them the islanders, in essence, ended their own lives as they knew it!

For more info on this, watch a 7 minute clip of David Attenborough's documentary on Easter Island: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hO-vCPuuQQ

Today I say: For me the Moai statues represent the respect we need to show this earth because if it is not cared for it's beauty and abundance will be lost.