You have read about the mistakes made on easter island. on tikopia, another small island, the people acted differently. when they realized that the pigs they had imported were damaging the environment, they killed them all. they had to have permission from a chief to fish, which prevented overfishing. they practiced contraception. these all indicate that
they felt that everything was a nonrenewable resource
they believed in full resource utilization
they felt that everything was a renewable resource
they truly practiced sustainability
they were concerned with only one year at a time