Be destructive, Create!

We create, and in that creation we feel productive, valuable, meaningful. We search for success in accomplishment, specifically in building something. We build sandcastles, businesses, nations. My dad talked about why construction was something he liked doing. He would say, "In carpentry, I can step back at the end of the day and see what I've done."
Tamara Naumann, the Botanist at Dinosaur National Monument, feels quite differently. As someone who is chiefly concerned with the well being of natural systems, she sees humans and human creation as the primary evil. It is the construction of dams that strangles aquatic systems, suburban subdivisions that pave over prairie ecosystems, and industry that pollutes our land, seas, and air. She even chose to minimize her own personal ability to create, choosing not to have children.
My dad and Tamara are both wonderful, honorable people. They are friends, and agree on most things. But there is a difference of opinion in the value of construction.
Eustace Conway is a personal hero of mine. His biography is called The Last American Man, and it was written by Elizabeth Gilbert and it is a fabulous read. Conway embodies many of the traits that I value: individualism, rational thought, genuine concern for nature, and a personal involvement in the natural world, as a hunter, gatherer, farmer. Yet as Gilbert told the story of his life, she did a great job of showing Conway as an example of all of us. He started out as a 20-year-old who hiked the Appalachian Trail with just a knife, eating roadkill or dumpster-diving. He became a master of "living off the land," and acquired 1000 acres of land. And on that land he became teaching. And building buildings. First it was a shed, then a cabin, then some fences, then a barn, then a house, then a bigger house, then a garage, then... and this man who preached against development, calling for all Americans to return to nature, took virgin forest and turned it into fields and buildings.
So how can destruction and creation be so interconnected? And would it be possible for us to find a sense of purpose, happiness, and production without continuing to build? It is absolutly necessary that we STOP building new things. We need the humility to see that each acre that we turn into "human environment" we are stealing from other species. As long as we continue to build, we will keep loosing species on this earth, and we will also loose beautiful places that are wonderful to visit. Is tai chi the answer? Can we become strong and flexible, and inward-looking, and thusly feel productive? I hope so.