&gt;I think what the article misses is that the mine is pretty much the only reason the city has inhabitants.<p>Generally people are driven to the urban centers in the first place after their [sustainable] rural ways of life and systems of land management are dismantled in the name of &quot;liberalization&quot;&#x2F;&quot;privatization&quot;&#x2F;&quot;modernization&quot;, leading to ecological deterioration, and ultimately resulting in complete desertification.<p>This process is taking place pretty much everywhere. Recently we&#x27;ve seen its bloody end-game in Syria: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.grain.org&#x2F;bulletin_board&#x2F;entries&#x2F;5225-over-grazing-and-desertification-in-the-syrian-steppe-are-the-root-causes-of-war" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.grain.org&#x2F;bulletin_board&#x2F;entries&#x2F;5225-over-grazi...</a><p>It&#x27;s critical to understand that human society takes place within a biophysical-ecological context. Ignore that and our predictions about the future are bound to be wildly inaccurate. The same can also be said about our understanding of the past.