Back in 2001 were in Chile and discovered that flights from Santiago were really inexpensive (they still are, at $300 USD RT) so we jumped at the chance to go. On the plane we met a Chilean mother and daughter who did not drive, but wanted to rent a jeep to explore the island. They paid for the jeep. Mrs. Ego and I were the driver/navigator. We had a great time.
Not long after we returned, Jarod Diamond's book Collapse came out. He told the story of the descent of the Easter Island / Rapa Nui culture. The story goes... they cut down all of their trees to support the building of the massive moai statues, which caused the disintegration of the civilization. Those statues represented the pinnacle of the culture, but their creation is responsible for its decline.
If you listen to the last nine minutes of that podcast on Rapa Nui / Rapamycin, it tells a very different story about the Rapa Nuian civilization.
Every so often, I need a reminder of lessons like that, because our current situation is very comfortable. It is a good reminder that it is possible to be too comfortable.