> not having these visions of grandure about us as some protectors of the universe
Uh? Where did that come from?
> is all rationalization on your part
It's not rationalisation. But as all moral statements they are subjective, in the same way as the fact that you don't want your spouse or kids to die doesn't rest on some objective hard facts about the universe.
And meaning can't exist without creatures like us, so we are absolutely free to bestow it to whatever we want.
> I don't then use this fun thought experiments to justify not recycling or denying human impacting climate change if that was what put you off.
But for some reason this is the exact argument that comes up every time someone mentions that maybe we shouldn't fuck up our world. It's neither thoughtful nor original.