As mentioned before, we are not necessary the greatest and best that evolution can come up with. It becomes very subjective when you start talking about a "masterpiece", some might say bacteria and importantly viruses are a "masterpiece". I watched a program on TV about virus spores that are thought to be swept up to "space" and land on other continents and regenerate (come alive). Other virus spores lay dormant for hundred if not thousand of year. To me that is a masterpiece.
The other part of your question dealt with the fact that humans are changing earth in a way that no other organism has done before, this is not true, we owe our existence to algae/cyanobacteria/blue-green algae these guys converted carbon-dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis (like plants). After hundreds of million of years these guys found themselves in a major crisis......too much oxygen.
Quote:
|
The large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere are considered to have been first created by the activities of ancient cyanobacteria.
|
This is taken from this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria