> We're still under the mercy of the natural world, and we have to make do
with
>what the earth can provide for us.
No, not at all. We started altering the Earth's nitrogen cycle in a major
way about 1 century ago. All major food crops have been substantially
altered from their origins, some so completely we're not entirely sure what
the origins are. When the natural world fails to provide we can and do
change the world. Rather, it's now the "natural" world which requires
the focused effort of large numbers of humans to maintain it in the face
of all the other people who want to change it.