The fallacy of believing that humans are the most important species on the planet

I have had countless discussions with people who are of the opinion that the human species is the most important on the planet, and that everything we do is natural, because we are the products of nature ourselves. As both these fallacies often come up during the same conversation, let me address both of them together.

First of all, to think that the human species is at the top of any supposed pyramid of life is merely human conceit and vanity. In evolution, there is no 'winner', only losers in terms of going extinct. Unless we change our ways very soon, there is a very real danger that we may meet such a fate ourselves.We simply cannot sustain our current levels of pollution and destruction. In a short space of time we have evolved quickly, but also in that short space of time we have wreaked chaos and bloodshed on our wonderful planet. 

We have evolved intelligence, tool use, language, art, music, science, technology and a great number of other worthy facets to our big brains. However, it doesn't take a genius to see that we cannot keep plundering our planet forever.

The planet's resources are finite. While the human population grows ever larger, we take increasingly greater quantities from the planet, stripping back it's biodiversity. Despite our intelligence, we lack the foresight to see what harm we are doing to our planet. 

Secondly, to say that everything we do is natural is absurd. That is mere justification to keep going as we are. There is nothing natural about decimating our rain forests, oceans, skies and countless other species. That is completely unnatutral. Natural means to be in harmony with nature, the human species decimates it instead. The complete opposite of natural.

The people who state that everything we do is natural are also missing the glaringly obvious contradiction in their words. Surely if everything we do is natural, then the word itself becomes obsolete. 

Imagine for a second a planet without our presence. Everywhere you looked there would be savannah, forest, oceans and harmony. The planet's natural order would be slowly restored, and the damage we have wrought would be gradually undone. The seas and oceans would slowly be restored, as would the skies. Forests would slowly regrow and species would increase in numbers (the ones we decimate for profit and bring ever closer to extinction).

Like it or not, if we keep going as we are, we'll destroy the human species and most of the planet with it.