Do not think that I’m one of that deranged lot who would be fine with humans going extinct so nature in all its glory can return to its original state. Its original state being that of animals beset by hunger, injury, pain, and usually violent death in only a few short years, or even months. Yep, the wilderness was one fun place to hang out millions of years ago. And natural disasters were and are no less daunting despite being entirely “natural”. Poison sumac is natural. Cobra venom is natural, volcanoes and tsunamis are natural.
A hawk munching on a mouse or a bear ripping a deer apart are natural. Ice ages, burning deserts, insect borne diseases, and planet shaking earthquakes are natural. Huge rocks impacting the earth and destroying thousands of species is just a natural function of the solar system. Super-volcanoes that ravage continents are natural. Sea levels shift hundreds of feet between glaciation events with no human input. The old saying “nature is red in tooth and claw” drastically understates the case. Humans can’t “destroy” the earth, but “nature” can sure as hell destroy humans in wholesale lots, or even completely if it sets its mind to it.
Let me repeat that humans cannot destroy the earth. Not even gathering every single thermonuclear weapon in one place will make the earth take much notice of us. "Saving the planet" is merely a term for asserting how much human endeavor may affect the atmosphere. The "planet" is in not danger, but perhaps our cushy, safe, heated and air-conditioned virtue signaling existences might be. Therefore we throw vast sums of money and effort (same thing) at the problem in hopes of halting a few degree average temperature increase. Whether we are successful in that effort or not, the body of the earth is entirely indifferent, but it is not quiescent. It moves, flows, recirculates, jerks, slides, and erupts. And it does all that without the slightest human input, nor can any human input do a darn thing about it. We might eventually be able to accurately predict volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, but we'll never be able to do anything about them.
Unfortunately, we humans have a habit of settling right in the path of those volcanoes and earthquakes, the rim of the Pacific Ocean being the most glaring example. But, damaging quakes spread far beyond tectonic plate boundaries. For instance: If the earthquake that happened on the New Madrid fault in 1811 happened today, deaths could easily be tens of thousands of people with infrastructure damage handily surpassing a trillion dollars. It would also be a serious blow to the economy which could take decades to recover. And let's not even talk about what is possible on the west coast.
Oh sure, even the most virulent "Save the planet" crusaders will not object to anything I've said about the body of earth itself, if they think about it for a few minutes, but thinking clearly on this subject is in extremely short supply.
