Every life form changes its environment. This is a fact. Trees, grass, animals and people. The degree of the change can influence the success of the species. Typically some change is beneficial. Tree and grasses cycle nutrients they require and make it easier for the seeds to survive. Beavers build dams that favor propagation. If the environment changes to much, it can cause problems. A monoculture can form and insects of disease wipe out plants. Food can become scare and the beavers have to move. Deer will over-browse and some starve rather than move.
Every species adapts to its environment within limits. Deer may learn to graze road sides and avoid traffic. Trees can form hybrids that can better adapt to changing soil conditions. Humans are by far the most adaptable. We change our agricultural practices for example (no-till farming). We have visited every continent on earth we could find and even go to the ocean bottom or moon for short periods of time. We can even genetically modify our food to match growing conditions. Our technology helps us adapt.
Our technology not only helps us adapt, but it helps us modify our environment. We modify by irrigating and genetically modifying our crops (breeding and direct genetic manipulation). We can level mountains to build, plant forest of tree species we need, clean the water we use, etc.
There is always a balance between adaptation and changing our environment. Problems occur when a species causes changes to occur they cannot adapt to quick enough, or they do not recognize as dangerous and modify their behavior.
