Although Greenland and Australia are thousands of kilometers apart and very different in geography, they also have many similarities. In his book “Collapse,” Jared Diamond shows that both countries have five factors that can contribute to the collapse of a society. Greenland's Norse society already collapsed long ago, while Australia is still a fast-growing First World country. If some things don't change, the country's standard of living will decline and big problems could arise. The first factor in Diamond's five-point framework is environmental damage. In Greenland, the Norse destroyed natural vegetation, caused soil erosion, and cut off the breakthrough (Diamond, 248). They burned or cut down trees to free up land for agriculture and grazing. Plants often failed to regrow due to overgrazing and trampling, and topsoil slipped into rivers or was blown away by the wind. The grass cut by the Norwegians ?????The resulting deforestation led to a shortage of construction timber and firewood. Even the Norwegians could no longer mine iron, because they needed coal for hot fires. Life became more difficult because they did not have iron, because they had to use more inefficient tools for cutting hay and butchering, and it was also more difficult to fight or attack the Inuit without swords and other iron weapons. The environment in Greenland is very fragile with a short, cool growing season, meaning plants regrow too slowly. Australia also has a very fragile environment, probably the most fragile of any First World country (Diamond, 370). The soil is very old and not very fertile, so plants and trees do not grow without being fertilized. There are no more nutrients left to end up in rivers and... middle of paper... "I'll do what I want" is slowly changing. There are more environmental groups and volunteers and more information on how to save the environment. In conclusion, a comparison between the two companies shows many similarities, but also important differences. In both countries, settlers faced conditions that were not the norm. In Greenland they arrived during a mild period and in Australia they arrived during a series of wet years. Things then changed and both companies were caught by surprise. Added to this were hostile natives and the loss of an important trading partner. Despite all this, the Norse still did not adapt and their society eventually collapsed. Australia also faces the five factors that can lead to the collapse of a society. However, the country has made some changes and therefore probably will not have the same fate as Greenland.