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Collapse: a Short History of Progress Ward Chesworth Document generated on 09/28/2021 1:40 a.m. Geoscience Canada Collapse: A Short History of Progress Ward Chesworth Volume 32, Number 3, September 2005 URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/geocan32_3rv03 See table of contents Publisher(s) The Geological Association of Canada ISSN 0315-0941 (print) 1911-4850 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this review Chesworth, W. (2005). Review of [Collapse: A Short History of Progress]. Geoscience Canada, 32(3), 140–143. All rights reserved © The Geological Association of Canada, 2005 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ 140 The partitioning of larger sub- “Bauxite” focuses on spectroscopic dous accomplishment that this book jects is, perhaps, more likely to reflect characterization, omitting any mention represents. He can also take pride in the editorial decisions. Certainly, the editors of the origin of bauxite. Other sedi- vigour of the sedimentary profession in had little choice other than to group ment-hosted ores (SEDEX, banded this country, for this is owed, in no small subjects into larger themes; the alterna- iron, or MVT lead-zinc) are not treated. part, to his sterling efforts and intellectu- tive–to include a heading for every single As noted above, the illustrations al leadership. topic–would have produced a dictionary are generally of good to excellent quali- rather than an encyclopedia. ty. However, there are strange omissions Nonetheless, there is a good deal of here as well; flame structures, which are Collapse inconsistency in how subjects are broken strikingly visual features, are described down. For example, topics dealing with without any accompanying photograph By Jared Diamond carbonate rocks are finely divided, or sketch. Sizing and choice of images 2005, Viking including short, separate entries as limit- are not everywhere optimal. In the sec- ed in scope as “Tufas and Travertines”, tion on glacial sediments, Figure G12 “Stromatolites”, “Ancient Karst”, and takes half a page to show a braided river A Short History of Progress “Cements and Cementation”. Most of emanating from a glacier terminus that is these short entries are excellent; they not even clearly visible in the picture. By Ronald Wright summarize the recent literature and Referencing is also somewhat uneven, as 2004, Anansi Press briefly discuss possible interpretations. in the well-written section on By contrast, a large subject like “evapor- “Substrate-Controlled Ichnofacies”, Reviewed by Ward Chesworth, ites” is treated in a single entry, in which, which excludes some key references Department of Land Resource Science, in limited space, the authors attempt to from the past decade. In some cases, University of Guelph produce an encyclopedic entry covering the editors have missed an opportunity such disparate topics as the economic by not requiring contributors to develop "You think that a wall as solid as the uses, social history, environment of for- more comprehensive bibliographies, earth separates civilization from bar- mation, and geochemistry of evaporites, which would have been a particular barism. I tell you the division is a thread, as well as the Phanerozoic evolution of boon to novice users. a pane of glass. A touch here, a push seawater. Many of these topics could But enough of criticism, for this there, and you bring back the reign of have used a separate entry. Yet, cover- book’s failings pale alongside its virtues. Saturn." age of some topics is repetitive. Soft- The book will be useful to graduate stu- John Buchan, 1916. sediment deformation structures are dents, senior undergraduates, and prac- treated in detailed entries that focus on ticing sedimentary geologists of all Opulent materialism can only be individual types of structure, but also in stripes; every practicioner of sedimenta- sustained for the relatively few in society an overview article that is superficial and ry geology should have access to a copy. - the king and his court, the tyrant and mainly repeats what is stated more effec- It deserves a place on every desktop but his favourites, the president and his bag- tively in the detailed entries. There are the very high price–about $475 in men. The eighteenth century radical, also strange overlappings and splittings Canadian funds at this writing–probably Tom Paine, believed that the prototype of topics in some of the book’s other- means it will be found only the desks of of them all was the thief and his gang. wise excellent historical/biographical workers with generous paycheques or The rest of us aspire to the more mod- entries. A brief biographical sketch of bountiful research grants. Inevitably, it est version of opulence called affluence. R.A. Bagnold is largely repeated in a will fall to libraries and research depart- The problem is that the most fortunate more entertaining entry focused on his ments to make the book available, part of the human population has now scientific contributions. “Sedimentology, although in these days of tight book attained an affluence that approaches History” is a useful overview but is budgets the price may also give pause to historical opulence. The affluence of a focused almost entirely on Europe and institutional purchasers. Because we do Canadian or American for example, is North America; meanwhile, the history not wish to divide this excellent volume, roughly the equivalent of 10 to 15 of Japanese sedimentology is in a sepa- Solomon-like, into six equal pieces, we inhabitants of the third world, in terms rate entry. A section devoted to are donating the review copy to the of life-time consumption and waste gen- “Sedimentology–Organizations, G.S.C.’s Calgary library. eration (Zen, 2000). All 10 to 15 hope to Meetings, Publications” covers organisa- Finally, because this review is to enjoy our level of luxury someday, and tions reasonably well and provides a cur- appear in a Canadian journal, it is appro- indeed the Brundtland report states its sory discussion of journals and special priate to comment upon the pleasingly goal to be exactly that (WCED, 1987). If publications. However, with regard to high level of Canadian expertise reflect- achieved, it would scar the biosphere so conferences, this section provides only a ed in this book. Canadian contributors badly that the downfall of the civiliza- list of generalities and platitudes about include the editor, three of the associate tion we currently enjoy would be what conferences are supposed to editors, and many of the individual con- assured. Ten thousand years of trial and achieve. Treatment of economic aspects tributors. This is a tribute to the error, reaching back before Sumer, of sedimentary rocks also is regrettably strength of sedimentology and its sub- would simply be another failed experi- patchy. Placers are well represented, but disciplines in this country. Professor ment. And even if the goal is not laterites are absent and the discussion of Middleton can take pride in the tremen- achieved, as seems more likely, the stress GEOSCIENCE CANADA Volume 32 Number 3 September 2005 141 between the haves and the have-nots much longer, and both Diamond and lems, over-hunting, over-fishing, effects would leave little chance for the devel- Wright call for it. of introduced species on native species, opment of a stable world community. Jared Diamond scored a great human population growth, and increased People who contemplate the popular success with his Pulitzer Prize per capita impact of people." Four downfall of society are commonly criti- winning book Guns, Germs and Steel. It (Collapse p. 7) he identifies as threaten- cised as pessimists, and labeled as being dealt with the origins of civilized soci- ing current societies - "human caused too negative to deserve a hearing. eties and of inequalities in the wealth of climate change, buildup of toxic chemi- However, pessimism as much as opti- nations. The book gave new life to old cals in the environment, energy short- mism has survival value or natural selec- ideas, including the notion that “earth ages, and full human utilization of the tion would have removed it from our resources, particularly arable land and earth's photosynthetic capacity." But is heritage long ago. In any case civiliza- useful minerals, are strongly localized, so the total twelve in fact, or is it eleven? tions have collapsed in the past, so it is that some areas 'have' while others 'have Isn’t over-fishing just another form of no more than prudent to consider the not'” (Whittlesey, 1939). His current over-hunting? Actually, it’s likely to be possibility of a collapse in the future. It book “Collapse” examines the comple- only one big problem – the problem of is part of the due diligence we must mentary problem – why complex soci- human population growth and greed – exercise if we wish to sustain any but eties fail. Incidentally, Ronald Wright or is that two? the most brutish existence over the long reviewed the book in the Globe and But I’m nit-picking, and will take term. The authors of both books under Mail for January 15, 2005. the number to be twelve for the sake of review perform their due diligence, and Diamond states that his objec- argument. Diamond certainly recognizes both believe that there are important les- tive is to investigate societal collapses that all twelve are interconnected. Leave sons to be learned from history. “involving an environmental compo- any one unsolved and we could go the Civilizations, says Ronald Wright nent, and in some cases also contribu- way of the Easter Islanders he says (Progress p.
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