I think standard should be human life. Human life today is better than any time in human history.
Life expectancy is longer than ever before.
The standard should be what is good for human beings, not what is good for trees. They desperately threaten to put dissenting parents behind bars to mask the government's massive failure. Rights make it possible for individuals to coexist peacefully, trade and produce, provide for their own lives, and pursue their own happiness, free from the threat of violence. Animal 'rights' which demand man's destruction are the antithesis of rights. No matter - I just read your essay on Claudius.