Wait, what? Since when was appreciating the aesthetics of nature bad? Since when was living in a cabin in the woods a nature-destroying venture? How did you conclude his motivations were solely narcissistic? Yes, he's living out there just so he can mention it in blog posts...
This sort of extreme snap judgement just comes across as envy.
Then give up whatever device you are typing on, and never set foot again in whatever structure you are typing from. Surely you know that your activities have destroyed at least as much nature as whatever you're criticizing.
What truth? You've asserted, in the form of a question, that OP was involved in the destruction of redwoods. You then make a statement that assumes an answer to the question you just posed.
I agree with taking on pet projects that have no immediate payoff. And they don't need to be complicated either, only intellectually stimulating or ambitious.
For example, a few summers ago I decided to make a web page for each and every national anthem in the world. A huge website network of national anthems, and later I would add audio.
I only managed to do 5-6 anthem pages (Great Britain, USSR, Canada, a few others) before I became completely preoccupied with trying to secure the Star Spangled Banner lyric site. The site was being hacked constantly.
I finally took them all down - except the "Oh Canada" website (my home country) which comes in handy for my own use: http://ohcanadaanthem.com/
