The Earth: a Gift and a Privilege

As I have always understood, and what seems to be reflected in Dobel’s arguments, the earth was a gift to humans. They were given dominion over the earth and all the other living things that live upon it being that they were made in the likeness and image of God. If this dominion has led to the obvious destruction of the earth and its resources, I am still not convinced. Dobel seems to be in the same mindset.
If the earth was a gift and it was entrusted to humans than it would be in the best interest for current inhabitants to care for the earth for their own survival. Yet, it would also be in their best interest to concern themselves with its wellbeing for the sake of future generations, which they were given the task by God to produce.
Where I feel that Dobel has gone astray is when he argues that the earth and the creatures of the earth have an intrinsic value of their own, separate from their relationship to human need. “The earth must be regarded as an autonomous ethical entity bound not just by the restraints of physical law but also by respect for its inherent goodness and covenanted limitations placed upon our sojourn.” He says this then goes onto describe a kind of balance between earth and nature but the main concern is on the benefits this balance will bring to humans.
In this way, I believe that it should be considered that the story of creation is in the order that it is and is declared “good” at each step not because each step is by itself an intrinsically good entity but that it is good only in relation to the end result of the planet’s need to existence, the existence of humans. God created man and gave all that he created over to him to live off of and rule over. Man understands that this is a gift, a privilege, not a right by any means, clearly shown through that act of God exiling man from his garden for disobedience. However, man has maintained the authority over earth and its creatures.