Save the humans.

Hey, today's Blog Action Day! (Which makes yesterday Blog Action Eve -- so next Oct. 15 I'm throwing a party.)

So what's the B.A.D. deal?

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

That's all well and good. But I want to point out that when we talk about a "better future" for the environment, we need to remember that our planet's future is plenty bright -- in the long-term, geologic sense. It's the people who DEPEND on the Earth who are facing serious problems.

And last time I checked, that's every single one of us.

The Adventure Junkie put it just right today:

It's important that we put aside these petty differences and work to become better stewards of the environment as a whole. You'll hear people saying that if we don't we'll destroy the planet. But those people are wrong. The planet has been through a lot worse things than what we're doing to it. What we're doing is not destroying the planet. Instead we're destroying ourselves.

One of my favorite things about getting way out into the backcountry is how damn humbling it is. The incredible scope and resilience of nature will always put you in your place. It reminds you that our species is so much more fragile than our planet. No matter how badly we screw things up, the Earth will recover even if we don't.

Is it wrong to find that reassuring?