Ah, reading your post again - We're special in that we can decide what effects we want to have - indeed we may be only special in being able to decide we don't want certain effects. We might not be special in being able to decide we won't actually create them. Human beings, as devastating as fire ants but with more regrets!
... except when we fail to act on our supposed ideals, which seems to be most of the time!
I suppose that if we assumed that humans were like some species of giant ant, then our spread accross the globe, destroying species, altering coast lines and spewing out poison, would be a marvel of nature!
If each complex species that enters and alters an area is "degrading" it, what is the most desirable ecosystem? A giant mound of plankton?
Isn't it a marvel of nature? We're consciously shaping the world to suit ourselves. We're being very destructive and savage in the process, but destruction and loss is natural.
I most enjoy the comments one sees online made by people who talk about how our biology is going to doom us to destruction. The point they miss is that being aware of our biology allows us to circumvent it, to some degree, and that's a part of evolution to. Mental/technological evolution still counts as evolving.