Human Nature – is it worth protecting?

I’ve been involved in the “save the planet” debate for some time now, and it all seems to come back to the same question. Why bother?

Human beings have yet to prove to me that they’re worth saving. They are stupid, short-sighted, bigoted, selfish, disgusting creatures and given their tendency to damage the environment around them, I’m not entirely sure they’re worth even the smallest extra effort.

I mean it’s almost a sure thing that the planet would be better off without them.