The reason we shouldn't be pushing the message of "understanding the world is not just trivia" is not because it's wrong. It's because people would not be responsive to it.

Besides, there are far more fundamental structures to prioritize understanding before getting into the varieties of aquatic lifeforms, which do become pretty trivial. If a category of fish does something that significantly impacts something important, that matters. You have a role to fulfill as an informed voter, with a responsibility to participate in ruling your territory well. If you have a working understanding of how and why this shit works as it does, you can be reminded of that important function when they are threatened by dangerous interests. Whether or not you personally recall all their colorful patterns and names of the fish without looking them up is not as important.

As for our ruination, I don't place blame equally. But as voters I do blame the majority of your friends and family, as well as my own.

But I stand by the idea that it is a deserved disaster, but further I think it's for the best. Ideally we don't bring our bullshit too far into the future. A few more centuries as we fade away is more than enough. It would be a disaster if we managed to keep growing into larger and larger civilizations for millennia, repeating the same behaviors at larger and larger scales with more and more to suffer it.

It's best if we all die out.