We can and should do both. Our emphasis should indeed be on not shitting the bed. But we should also look for new beds. The big problem is that Mars at its best

We can and should do both. Our emphasis should indeed be on not shitting the bed. But we should also look for new beds. The big problem is that Mars at its best is worse than Earth at its worst. The Earth in "The Road", or almost any post-apocalyptic story, is still infinitely more livable than Mars!