In Collapse Jared Diamond asks, “What did the Easter Island who cut down the last palm tree say while he was doing it?” This always seemed like a interesting and legitimate question but maybe the last tree wasn’t cut down… I found a fascinating story via BoingBoing that tells of the fate of the last tree in Tenere, in northeastern Niger. From The Last Tree of Tenere:

The Tree of Tenere, as it came to be called, had no companions for 400 km in every direction. Its roots reached nearly 40 m deep into the sand. In 1973, the tree was knocked over by a drunken Libyan truck driver.

The region of Tenere was once a lush forrest and now it is a desolate desert. Wikipedia has more information on the sad fate of the last tree of Tenere.

[tags]collapse, niger, easter island, logging, environment[/tags]