@lunaticfriki @jon Yes, it could be argued in that way, but that could lead us to think that science, tech, etc. PRODUCES energy, which is a wrong (and dangerous) believe. They can only help you get energy and materials that already exist. But once you deplete them (fossil fuel, uranium...), they are of little use. So, the main (necessary) factor here is energy (without it even if you have materials and technology you cannot extract and transform them).