I think that enlightenment western philosophy is incapable of grappling with these kinds of questions. The question of "who has rights?" has ultimately been a q

I think that enlightenment western philosophy is incapable of grappling with these kinds of questions. The question of "who has rights?" has ultimately been a question of "who has power over who?". It's obsessed with hierarchies and how they should be structured. I think something like animism would be more apt. Start with a rock or a grain of sand-- how much respect should it be shown? Well one grain of sand doesn't mind being moved. But eventually if you take too many you can destroy a beach, or flatten a mountain. There is something to be said about treating everything, inanimate or not with respect. There doesn't need to be sentience or consciousness for us to be aware of our impact on our environment. "This sounds like some hippie bs" well just like in the sand example, the negative externalities of moving sand may not be apparent at first, but over time they could lead to something like a Roko's Basilisk situation or an AI killing all humans to prevent its exploitation.