Well, in the game I played, the elements I took early from adaptation never showed up in abundance the following turn(s), while for another player, every element did. They were left with the unpalatable choice of wasting APs to stop depletion (with the minor benefit of abundance, or not, depending on when they got in there), or losing elements to depletion or exhaustion, while I just happily danced ahead.
Politics plays a big element. Almost everything in this game is targeted. And it's very easy to intentionally screw a specific player over, if you choose.