This benighted piece of medieval philosophy is still circulating in our advanced society. In fact, it is the cognescenti and intellectual liberals who purvey this nonsense the most. If two billion years of evolution have led to humans, it has also led to each and every one of the millions of other species. The only thing that really separates us from the rest is that we chatter and beeble about our place in the scheme of things. The problem with environmental regulation is not that regulating our poluting behavior is a bad idea, it's just that we don't have the foggiest idea how to do it.
Plants love it.
Almost all new technology is cleaner and less environmentally disruptive than the technology it replaces. Basically, we should not mess with Mother Nature because we don't know what or how to do it. By all means, try to keep disasters like the Exxon Valdez from happening. This can and must be done with more, not less, technology. I hope they cut yours off before mine.