Pyle meets Dr. John Loret, a scientist who has spent 40 years studying the island and its statues.  He believes Easter Island’s people, known as the Rapu-Nui, went through a period of rapid population growth, and in turn, used up all their natural resources.  What was the final crushing blow that “did in” almost all of the Rapu-Nui?  Dr. Loret suspects climate change is to blame. He says, “Easter Island is a microcosm of what we’re doing to planet earth.”  Join Loret and his team of seasoned scientists as they search for signs of climate change in a volcanic crater and ancient coral heads.

Meet Sergio Rapu, a trained archaeologist and descendent of the original island inhabitants.  Sergio is helping Dr. Loret find answers to the mystery,  while over seeing the restoration of the island’s huge stone statues.  The statues, weighing 100 tons, were built by the Rapu-Nui.  Many have been  destroyed by weather, age and tribal warfare. Sergio says, “The most important part of this restoration work is to allow the living people of today to appreciate their ancestors and their heritage.”

As scientists unravel and piece together the mystery of Easter Island, will the modern world learn from the mistakes of Sergio’s ancestors and possibly avoid the same fate?