gradualism was pretty much debunked by Steven J Gould and "punctuated equilibrium."

The fact that the scientific establishment hasn't caught up with its pioneers is nothing new.

Human beings don't really seem to have any more right to exist than any other species -- we have just been clever enough to fill virtually every ecological niche there is, so the dieoff will seem more extreme.

Take the long view -- there will be oil again in the future. It will be made of people, this time around.

doesn't the long view depend on the kind of punctuation in the equilibrium? :)