1. I regard life as more valuable than non-life, and human life as the most valuable form of life. The destruction of non-life to maximize life is therefore acceptable. Also, this is not a question of desperation, but one of optimization.

1a. Valid point. We should still dismantle both because both are currently not in their most useful states.

2. More or less. I desire to see humanity become a K4 civilization. I will die long before that. I wish to push things in the right direction. Becoming a K2 civilization is a necessary step.

3. We should do both. We should go to every star in the universe and turn every last dead rock into places where life can flourish so that the cosmos becomes filled with sentient life and as much of it as possible because sentient life is inherently valuable.

4. Agreed. Inefficient solutions are the steps to efficient solutions. However, maintaining a goal of a more efficient solution will allow us to reach it sooner rather than later.