Don’t want to come across as misanthropic, but I think humans are less analagous to cats / dogs and more analagous to brewer’s yeast in a sugar-rich environment, especially looking at how we’re responding to climate change.
On an individual level, people can make better choices like vegetarianism/veganism, walking vs driving etc. Even so with small-medium groups, with things like reforestation and environmental activism, for example. Overall though?
I think a lot of the points brought up in Staying Optimistic are relevant. I think what makes humans unique vs. other animals is that we can see what’s happening and are capable of changing the outcome. Will we? Hopefully, my analogy is wrong and we don’t end up like the yeast, which in consuming everything, ends up poisoning itself as the alcohol concentation increases.