on humans vs. nature

we are the only species which makes a differentiation between nature and ourselves and what we have created. i think that separation in itself is a lot of our problem. it's not just what we do to the planet, it's the way we see ourselves as not a part of her. we see all other living things as a part of a whole but we are not? what makes us so "special"? our being capable of things which other species are not just means we have a responsibility to use that power carefully. just be cause we CAN do all manner of things a tree or a lion or a spider cannot, doesn't mean we SHOULD. we used to know this. when we were still a people who relied on the whims of nature and the fortune of a mild winter or a good hunt to survive we understood that we are not different from the food we eat or the land we walk. we are not special and this world was not created for us or as a personal playground to protect or destroy as it suits us. it is remarkably arrogant that we even have the word "nature" or "natural" as opposed to man-made. that implies that anything we create or change is somehow more or less or not the same as that which grew and evolved and changed without our touching it. because we ARE nature as much as the rest of the world we should be mindful of this and have the things we touch and change and build be worthy of that definition.