Ancient prophecy (not the Bible!) which pretty much nails it:
10. Now God, who is the Father of us all, has placed ready to our hands those things which he intended for our own good; he did not wait for any search on our part, and he gave them to us voluntarily. But that which would be injurious, he buried deep in the earth. We can complain of nothing but ourselves; for we have brought to light the materials for our destruction, against the will of Nature, who hid them from us. We have bound over our souls to pleasure, whose service is the source of all evil; we have surrendered ourselves to self-seeking and reputation, and to other aims which are equally idle and useless.
This is by Seneca a Stoic. It was written around 60 A.D. He is referring to gold and silver and such things. If he knew what would happen on the petroleum front he would have included that. Anyway.....Pretty good argument to me. We can admire and enjoy the beauty of the earth (Nature) and of other people. We can look up to the stars and be in awe. Or we can (the rich mainly) dig deep into the earth and bring up items that we cannot eat and that most of us cannot enjoy. I realize you should not take the lesson too far but Seneca did not either. He taught that we should be satisfied with enough. I still think that is a good lesson. Stoicism has some really good thoughts.
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