Whales were once so ludicrously abundant in the ocean that they were a severe hazard to navigation. Now they're a rare sight. Parts of North America were so cr

Whales were once so ludicrously abundant in the ocean that they were a severe hazard to navigation. Now they're a rare sight. Parts of North America were so crowded with animals that no longer exist. They've been entirely exterminated. The Passenger Pigeon is one of many examples. Although there's nothing we could do that would destroy the planet any worse than nature has in the past, each cataclysm requires tens of millions of years to recover from. I'm not sure about you, but I don't want to live in a barren hellscape where the temperatures are so high the ocean has evaporated. Maybe we should do what we can to avoid that fate, right? The "2 billion" figure assumes no alterations to the environment. We could handle more if we improve our sustainable practices.