It is all a matter of perspective I suppose. Benjamin Franklin came up with a great idea how to vex his competition when publishing his almanac. He kept reporting in it that his competitor had died, despite the fact that his competitor was still alive. This went on for some years, until finally one day his competitor did in fact die. To which Mr. Franklin was proud to announce his "see, I told you so" response. The point was because he was considered a man of some influence and notoriety, and his publication mostly contained interesting, if not always concise, information and had a relatively large circulation, a lot of people came to believe his competitor was dead long before he had actually expired.

Don't believe everything you see, hear, or otherwise learn about, unless you can verify it for yourself.

Our little world changes constantly. Mountains of rock will become sandy beaches someday. Changes occur whether we want them to or not, whether we think we can effect change or prevent it, and we will either learn to adapt or go the way of the dinosaurs. To think that us puny humans can have such a grand effect on our environment is foolish arrogance. On the grand scale of things, we have about as much influence over what happens on this planet as ants do.