We are an integral part of the earth. We cannot try to outsmart the earth with our limited, human intelligence. If we violate the scheme of nature, we are losing our sense of scale. Look at Chinese landscape painting. The big part is the mountains and rivers.
Human beings are tiny.
Other than emperors and other major figures, the Chinese don't have self-portraits. As long as that continues, we will have trouble convincing other countries to do ecologically sound things. We made all the mistakes, and now we want them to change their ways to benefit us. That doesn't work. In other words, we're going to have to make some sacrifices.