I take it as a word of caution. Obviously, we (as a species) have an adverse effect on our environment. What do we need to do to live in such a way that is advantageous to our own space? If the "world is getting better" because we are inside, then (clearly) we aren't doing it right. Maybe, in some surreptitious way, this is a divine reminder that this space in which we live is not our own, and we have been given a responsibility to care for it.