The author seems to say that Mars colonization is bad because colonization on Earth was bad, which seems like such a silly comparison it's not even worth addres

The author seems to say that Mars colonization is bad because colonization on Earth was bad, which seems like such a silly comparison it's not even worth addressing. And then goes on to say that we should be focused on Earth... Can't we do both? Mars colonization is so far down the list of things killing our planet, and seems like a sane response to too-slow societal change.