Reddit reviews Topsoil and Civilization

Generally I hope you're right but unfortunately believe your rejoinders are flawed. People have more faith in technology which has not been invented than they ever had in God.

Most technology uses energy, rather than provides access to net energy or increases in efficiency. And all technology represents reliance on increased levels of complexity, which tends to lead to collapse (Tainter, Collapse of Complex Societies).

We can grow new trees on tree farms so long as we're looking at the planet as a resource to despoil only for our use. And tree usage has reduced since we have not increased our use of biomass for heating - instead we burn coal, oil and natural gas. But tree farms don't make the same natural habitat for other biomass which is going extinct at an alarming rate.

Solving the "food issue" simply creates a "population issue." We have degraded and eroded our topsoil (https://www.amazon.com/Topsoil-Civilization-Vernon-Gill-Carter/dp/0806111070) , killed off innumerable beneficial insects, and developed a reliance on chemical fertilizers which are produced by the combustion of natural gas, a resource base which is degrading in quality.

There is plenty of oil, but it is increasingly hard to access and expensive to refine - meaning it is only economically viable at very high prices or very low interest rates - prices which will collapse the economy - and interest rates which, well...here we are.