Flannery argues the hypothesis that at current population growth rate levels, Australasia is living beyond its population-carrying capacity, to the extent that its biological stability has been damaged. European colonisation of Australia and New Caledonia brought its own artefacts and ways suitable in the 'old world', and yet struggle to adapt its "culture to biological reality". This reality is evident in Australia, where unpredictable climate combined with a lack of natural life giving resources have created a flora and fauna that have adapted over millennia to be extraordinarily efficient in the consumption of energy.