AS civilisation marches on, trampling forests and beasts in its reckless wake, one can almost hear the mocking laughter of Malthus' ghost as the ever-swelling human juggernaut threatens to lay waste to this beautiful planet with its avarice and lebensraum. Cassandras warn us that we are already paying for our environmental sins as spectres of global warming, the ozone hole and the return of killer diseases haunt us.