Easter Island

In your article about Easter Island (World Report, Aug. 2), William Long attributes the anarchy of the 1600s on the island to the obsession with moai construction. He mentions that the population had expanded to 10,000. When we visited Easter Island in 1989, we were told that because the population had exceeded the food supply, the statues were erected to help bring back prosperity. But by then it was too late, the woodlands had been cut, and the soil depleted. The ancestors had caused the problems, and now their moais were powerless to help.

The Earth’s resources are finite, just as they are on Easter Island. Scientists from 57 national academies of sciences say that science can no longer be counted on for technological fixes to solve agricultural and ecological problems caused by population pressures. They are urging us to think of the future by calling for measures that will help achieve zero population growth within the lifetime of our children.

The United Nations International Conference on Population and Development to be held in Cairo in September is an attempt to stabilize world population at 7.8 billion people. If the conference succeeds, perhaps humanity can avoid the terrible history of Easter Island.

SIEGLINDE JOHNSON

Laguna Beach