Shifting the focus of environmental concern

When it comes to environmental issues, people have a range of opinion. These opinions can be placed on a rough scale from extremely environmentally conscious to extremely environmentally unaware. On the unaware side, there are many variations, from people that just don't think about the environment as an issue at all, to people that think it's a non-issue and that humans should do whatever they want to benefit themselves selfishly or collectively. There is also a distinction between the people on the opposite end of the scale. Some people are genuinely concerned about wildlife and habitat and saving animals, while other people realize that being environmentally conscious is of utmost importance to humans.

I will be generalizing here, but in my observations on these attitudes concerning the environment, there is a real anger on the part of many environmentally unaware people. That anger is directed at the environmentally conscious people that want to save the cute seals and forests. They seem to have a worldview that humans are not part of nature, and that they are fundamentally opposed to nature. So the question for me is, how do environmentally conscious people break through to the environmentally unaware?

It is difficult to put a complex issue into a few words, but it is even more difficult to explain to the unaware that people are fundamentally a part of nature. I think environmentally aware people have their best option in simply stating that the health of the environment is a human quality of life issue. Because, if humans make the world uninhabitable for other species, it's not the end of the Earth or nature; it's the end of human civilization. Billions of people unknowingly depend on the health of ecosystems to feed themselves. Evolution will bring about new organisms that will be able to survive in whatever type of habitat is left. It's not the Earth that is in danger, but human society.

Framing the issue in terms of humanity is a stronger argument for the people on the environmentally unaware scale. For the people who are angry at those that want to save seals and foxes, we don't even have to bring animals up. For people that just don't think about the environment because it's not in their realm of consciousness, it might enter their consciousness if they think civilization is on the verge of collapse. I would urge any environmentally conscious person to start framing their conversations in such a manner - humanity depends on healthy ecosystems to feed ourselves, and saving the environment is crucial to saving people. If we destroy too many forests and seas, and too many species die out, it is people who will ultimately suffer. The Earth will rebound, even if it takes a milllion years. But if there's no arable land left, and not enough fish in the sea, it is humans who will suffer.
Let's call it the selfish self preservation argument...