Take air quality in the United States today: It's about 30 percent better than it was 25 years ago, even though there are now more people driving more cars.

F. 2005 Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. PMID 3762700.

Originally trained in physiology Diamond's work is known for drawing from a variety of fields including anthropology ecology geography and evolutionary biology. He is currently Professor of Geography at the University of California Los Angeles.