Easter Island

Stewardship is an interesting concept, and one that many people talk about, but just as many may also be confused about as well. First, we need to define stewardship, and how it may relate to this question. For example, my church often cites our duty as parishioners to fulfill our stewardship when it comes to the planning and management of our own resources to benefit our greater religious community; therefore, it is likely that the term takes on a slightly altered meaning in the context of this question. While the issues that surround the history of Easter Island help us to understand sustainability, we can see that the actual environment in that locale is an example of how not to manage stewardship.

In other words, stewardship is taking responsibility for the management of a natural location (such as Easter Island), and making plans to maintain it in to the long term. Interestingly, Easter Island is a microcosm for the entire global community, in that Easter Island is a solitary but habitable island, much like the Earth is a solitary but still habitable environment (at least for the time being). Furthermore, Easter Island is felt to be the most remote but habitable area o the entire planet.

When most people think of Easter Island, they imagine the giant stone statues that line the coast there, but do most civilians know where these creations came from? The history of Easter Island is rich but yet remains controversial. Its inhabitants have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids, colonialism, and near deforestation. As imagined, the population has been nearly wiped out more than once in the storied past of this island. For instance, the famous statues, known as the Moai, are actually ancient representations of dead natives, meant to watch over the living as reconstructed deities. However, even these famous landmarks were detrimental to the history of Easter Island, contributing to the deforestation and ultimate overpopulation of the small island. Later civil war eventually brought the standing Moai down, and also added to the overuse and depletion of the natural wonders that had been present on the island. This represents a perfect example, then, of what the lack of stewardship can do for an ecosystem.

If we look ahead, we must never forget the lessons we have learned, albeit too late, from the history of Easter Island. If we now consider the potential oil drilling that has been suggested for the Bridger Teton National Forest located in Western Wyoming, we must be cautious to not let overzealous overuse destroy a natural treasure. As of now, this location has refused to allow drilling in the forest of the Wyoming Range (Gruver, 2011). While the decision has been associated with much of the ecosystem that surrounds the range, we must also consider the potential for other harm that could result from drilling if it were permitted.

Not only are local fauna potentially threatened by proposed drilling,