...because we don't need to? Earth is already full of plant life. Mars isn't.
Sorry for the overly blunt answer, because I know this isn't the question you're asking, but IMHO the question you're asking is based on a ridiculous premise.
We are polluting the Earth. Yeah, this is really bad for the Earth, and for us, but it isn't going to kill all life here. The thing that a "backup planet" is here to protect against is something like being struck by a meteor, or a plague, or nuclear war. Something where everybody dies very quickly, not something where life changes radically.
If you want to terraform Mars, it's probably not because you decided Earth was beyond salvation; I haven't heard many people wanting to abandon Earth. Most people in favor of terraforming Mars want to have a 'backup' for intelligent life, or want to begin humanity's expansion past the bounds of Earth's atmosphere. The 'backup' motive is comparable to suggesting someone backup their electronic data instead of just trying to get very reliable drives.
I am also not sure that it is possible to 'terraform' Earth. 'Terraform' means 'to make like Earth', and Earth is as Earth-like as is possible, no matter how hot or cold it is.
Humans have been terraforming Earth for at least the last hundred years (industrial scale) to 10,000+ years (agriculture, livestock, extinction of other species).
Sorry for the overly blunt answer, because I know this isn't the question you're asking, but IMHO the question you're asking is based on a ridiculous premise.
We are polluting the Earth. Yeah, this is really bad for the Earth, and for us, but it isn't going to kill all life here. The thing that a "backup planet" is here to protect against is something like being struck by a meteor, or a plague, or nuclear war. Something where everybody dies very quickly, not something where life changes radically.