What's Happened to Rapa Nui?

The theory that Jared Diamond popularized in 2005 was that the Moai decimated the island's resources because they used all these palm trees. They burned them down, built huts and canoes to roll the Moai with. And then what happened was the, there were no roots to keep. So if you don't have tree roots, the rain is just going to wash away all the top soil. The land's going to erode. You're not going to be able to plant anything. People then begin to turn on one another. A bird man cult popped up in the power vacuum that formed when the chief lost control of the island.