[danparsonson]

> Placing us on the same level as trees is backwards, and it is not very useful thinking in those terms.

My turn to ask for some definitions - what do you mean by 'backwards', and 'useful'?

> We need to understand our place in the universe, and Earth, and be responsible with respect it

It's precisely my point that we, as a species, don't understand our place in the universe because we tend to inflate our importance with respect to it - indeed this was (is?) a cornerstone of some religion thought (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair).

If you take the view that self organisation/structure equates to relative importance, then, let's suppose a more 'highly evolved' alien race visited the Earth. Would you happily accept our new-found second place on the importance scale? How about if we develop a microchip more complex than the human brain (assuming that we have the capacity to do it)? Does that device become more important than a human being?

To me, the idea that all of Earth exists to support us is what I would call 'backwards'.

[RevRal]

Sorry, I don't have the time to expand and, ultimately, we're talking about two different things.

If you like, you may do further reading on singularities. Not the black hole kind.

I'll see you around.