Yes, I'm with you there, CF although it would be nice to imagine a clear and unambiguous choice would be given. The Brexit debate doesn't really offer much hope for that tho!

As far as I can see, in Private Fraser's words, we are doomed. Not from any of the things we've mentioned but because of population growth. It's just maths really and the history of successful populations of any creature type reaching a tipping point. I suppose that itself is a consequence of the Victorian's working out the existence germs and how to stop them. Until then population was stable: now it looks to me like we really do need to eat, drink and be merry.

I quite like Lovelock's Gaia theory - that the earth is a self-regulating system and eliminates problematic species. Whether it's more an observation of effect or an explanation of cause is another question!