When I was very young, 18, I remember taking a college course on agronomy, taught by an old professor with white hair. Many years later I realized the values he was trying to teach us... (Dairyman Dave)

Society has misused the natural bounty to build up a temporary basis for civilization. It now has a number of predicaments to be faced using the remainder of this bounty. This essay essentially summarises the position established in 'What went wrong? The misdirection of civilization'.