Yes, troubled times seem to be seen as great disturbers but then, if one doesn't live through them, things become somehow undistinguishable. From my point of view disturbing events do have great value if one stays calm and refrains from hastily done decisions and actions. Those events are also always a chance for renewal and thinking of alternatives.

The "problem" with us humans is that we like to investigate and explore and to lift every stone to look under. I think that forests and wildlife in particular should be left untouched in significant amounts throughout the whole world and remain for us to see the difference between civilization and non-civilization.

Though urban areas can also be very interesting once they are old enough to have their own history and yet not too old to become a museum-like artifact. For objects built by humans the natural course of birth and death is not so obvious.