thank you for a long and thoughtful feedback Chris, stuff like that helps to focus my thinking on this subject

Reduced to absolute fundamentals, the conclusion I’ve reached is that we are a species under the control of genetic forces, where the (collective) prime objective is the eat and reproduce — -in which we have a commonality with all other species on earth

Our oddity lies in having discovered how to control fire, no other factor differentiates us from other higher mammals. Everything can be traced back to that.

That anomaly however does not abate our genetic forces.

Fire seems to be driving us into an evolutionary dead end, (nature has had many of those). Our genes say we must reproduce to the environmental maximum, (as do bacteria in a petri dish)but fire has allowed us to go beyond that maximum.

So we have no other option but to continue our burning until there is nothing left to burn. (BAU as you say) Then our species expansion ceases

I wish I could reach a different conclusion