I just wondered how we made these sorts of things when everything on Earth works together and naturally decomposes.
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The assumption that because something is natural, it must be good and in balance is where things break down. I would argue that is a common misconception in layman environmentalism.
Nature is full of things that come about naturally whilst being devastating for both humans and the eco system.
Volcanic lakes can suddenly release huge amounts of CO2, suffocating (as in lethally) the fauna (incl. humans) in whole areas, as happened at Lake Nyos. Oil deposits can have natural leaks contaminating areas without any human intervention. There are (presumably rare) [naturally occurring nuclear reactors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_nuclear_fission_reactor#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DA_fossil_natural_nuclear_fission%2Cdaughter_nuclides_of%29_fission_products) in unusually highly concentrated uranium deposits. There are even naturally occurring coal fires. [Mount Wingen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Mountain), for example, has burned for an estimated 6000 years. (A coal plant would at least have had filters in the chimneys.)
Or for a more controversial example, there are [naturally occurring molds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin) infesting crops and releasing carcinogenic toxins into our food. Which is a source of debate with regards to artificial pesticides, as you might imagine.
If anything the thing that sets humans apart is our ability to find something we like and scale it up as much as we can. That has a way of throwing off the balance of anything, organic or not, given the efficacy of human determination. 😅
This in no way should make you feel less urgency about climate change or humans impact on the environment. It should however highlight the problems with associating “natural” with “balanced” or “good for nature”.
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