The Last Straw
摘要
This chapter discusses the connection between climate change and societal collapse. It starts with a discussion on how climate change contributed to the dawn of civilizations which was a consequence of human settlement and the transition to agriculture. This is followed by a discussion on how climate change posed a challenge to certain civilizations as well. Some societies had to either withstand the climate shock or wither away from history books. Then, the chapter focuses on the contribution and culpability of climate change to societal collapse and the transmission channels which include conflict, famine, disasters, and disease. The chapter, then, elaborates on how climate change can instigate conflict and provides an overview of studies that show the association between climate and conflict. The chapter also discusses how climate change can undermine the carrying capacity of a society and its ability to feed itself, how climate change can increase the frequency of natural disasters that could hit these societies hard, and finally how climate change can cause the spread of diseases. Each of these outcomes of climate change, or a combination of them, can in turn lead to societal collapse.