Human habitats MUST expand. The Earth should have a much larger Human poplulation. Humans are the only species with intelligence and, therefore, it is our fate that matters the most. Some, maybe most, other species will have to go.
The choice is clear we grow, they go!
The alternative, of course, is a much harsher reality for Humanity. If we try to impose stasis on our population growth, and human econoimic growth, there will be wars, there will be civil unrests, and conflicts all around the globe. We are already witnessing this. These conflicts are a result of lack of freedom and education, not shortage of resources and overpopulation. If you think about it, lack of freedom and lack of education perpetuates poverty; poverty, in turn creates the pressure cooker that bursts in conflicts. I know this personally full and well because I grew up in a relative poverty. I could see how people (who were otherwise very alike) got divided and became hostile to each other quickly.
If we believe that there's only so much resources to go around, we are doomed. If we, on the other hand, believe that resources are created by Human ingenuity, we are destined to prosper and reach the farthest stars. If you think about a resource like oil, for instance: it has been siting around for millions of years, until Humans discovered how to burn that resource to generate energy. Oil drives the global economy to this day. It's a relatively cheap, and energy-efficient resource. We need to continue using it (environmental impact nonwithstanding) as well as develop and put to use other sources of energy to lift people out of poverty. Our #1 problem is poverty, and not global warming or pollution (which is a more real and pressing threat actually). And here too, I've seen that access to education and technology has eased poverty, and conflicts between people. This needs to continue.
And YES, there are things we can do much smarter, as far as environmental protection is concerned. I'm not against sensible environmental protection. However, in principle, we'll have to make some serious sacrifices to facilitate Human population growth. Truly (and sadly), some animals will have to go. Their habitats will be taken by Humans - billions of them. These new people will be much better educated than we are now - just like we all are much better educated now than people 100, 200, 300 years ago. They will also have new tools and a higher standard of living. Some of them will be really, really bright. They'll unlock new secrets of science and technology - they'll develop ways for us to move to other planets, such as Mars, and terraform them. Then, new branches of civilization will start in places other than the Earth. [Interestingly, this process will spread other forms of life beyond the Earth. We may even bring some of the extinct animals back to life through genetic engineering (right now scientist are actually thinking of doing that with some extinct species).] Some new geniuses will be born. They'll find the way of interstellar travel (impossible though it may seem today). And, in thousands of years, Human colonies will be all over our Galaxy, and maybe other Galaxies... I like that vision and I am Happy and Proud to be a HUMAN! And I refuse to tolerate opinions that view us as a problem. Those who do that need to rethink their ideas and see how dangerous they are since they are pitting us against each other.
Not sure if you're trolling or you indeed are serious.
Damn. I'm such an unlucky bugger. My parents forbit me saying 'End of discussion' after i had made some random "argument" my self. That was when i was about 5yo.