The more I play the game the more I like the resource implementation. As is. It took me a few games to get used to it. The balance of power can be tipped at almost any point in the game. If it upsets your best laid plans, get over it.
You need to be ready to acquire crucial resources whether by diplomacy, colonizing distant lands or military force if you are to remain a "player" in the game.
I find that if you maintain a strong Civ that is respected by others, you can often, not always, get a resource fix by diplomatic means - without having to give the store away. Then you stockpile whatever you need for that time frame.
As far as history goes, an example that comes to mind is in WWII. Germany had to change it's strategy considerably when the Allies bombed it's primary oil source, the Romanian oil fields. Countries with access to coal had an unfair advantage in the industrial era. Etc. Etc.
Well done Firaxis.
