"For 200 years we've been conquering nature. Now we're beating it to death"

In this quote, Tom McMillan is expressing his issue about the way people have been treating nature for the past 200 years. He recommends that instead of living in consistency with nature, we have been conquering it, taking control and exploiting its resources for our own benefit. Nevertheless, now we have actually gone too far and are triggering permanent damage to the environment. McMillan uses the expression "beating it to death" to highlight the intensity of the situation and the seriousness for change. He thinks that it is time for us to reassess our relationship with nature and find a more sustainable way to exist side-by-side with it.