Many times there is a heavy dose of misanthropy in these environmental discussions. Phrases like "humanity is a virus", etc. I would like to share a different

Many times there is a heavy dose of misanthropy in these environmental discussions. Phrases like "humanity is a virus", etc. I would like to share a different perspective.There is a saying, "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." Even if humanity overburdens the planet and goes extinct in the next 100 years, I prefer what we have now, than if we had remained hunter-gatherers or pre-industrial. We have spread out to every corner of the world. With irrigation, farming, heating, air-conditioning, etc, we have transformed the most inhospitable habitats into thriving cities. Members of our species have even set foot on the moon. We have improved the quality of life for members of our species, especially the poorest. If you had to be born as a female child to a random mother, there is no other time in the humanity's existence where you would be better off than now. We invented language that can express the deepest and most profound thoughts to the person standing next to us, and invented writing that can encode it in a form that can be understood millennia later, and invented telecommunication that can transmit it instantly anywhere in the world. Our concept of the "universe" has grown. It is no longer the local grassland or forest. It is no longer a steppe or continent, or even our globe. Our concept of the universe includes solar systems and galaxies and super-clusters, and even the possibilities of a multi-verse. All animals try to control their environment, but we have learned to do so on an unprecedented scale. We learned early how to control the large fauna that could eat us. Most humans walk freely about, safe from large predators. We also, much later, learned how to control the small predators - the bacteria and viruses. We have also learned how to control ourselves. We learned how to control reproduction. We can keep from getting pregnant when we have sex, if we desire, or get pregnant without having sex. We can organize into communities and coordinate and cooperate at a scale and sophistication beyond any other animal. So, if this time is the time that we have ultimately outstripped the earth's capacity to support us (unlike the many, many false alarms in the past), then I say, cheers to humanity: we have lived, we have loved, we have laughed, we have wept, we have left our mark in our corner of the universe. Yes, let us try to develop technology and do things that help ensure humanity can stay like this for much, much longer. But let us not disparage humanity and all we have accomplished.