A point is made. The article's a bit tongue in cheek, if you read it before outrage sets in. It is an attempt to start a conversation. The author is just poking us with a stick, and look at the reaction in this small sample! We're sensitive.
Our hobby, like anything done by too many humans, is bad for the planet. Commerce, and transportation do a lot of harm. We can all find things worse than what we do, and better. You have to look on the bright side. Eventually, we'll go extinct and the planet will do fine without us. In the meantime, we're wrecking the place.
It's a great planet, and I'm glad I've happened. I do damage. I won't change the fundamentals, but I do try to do as little harm as I can manage. I've got my fishroom, which is very weird if you think about it, but it's set up to be energy efficient in its technology, fish choice and plant choice. I can see an island out in the bay here, and I guess I could go live like a 12th century Christian monk on it, but there's a numbers problem as there aren't enough rocky islands compared to how many people would have to do that. So I try to use my intelligence to reduce my footprint.
If a journalist wants to poke me with a stick or troll me, that's fine. We need reminders.