Building a hydroelectric dam and flooding some habitat or burning conventional fuels in a traditional power plant to drive a turbine coupled to a generator with atmospheric exhaust are also very human centric points of view, exactly what is your point?

In Google Earth satellite view, go find the entire plateau of dry land wheat farming (non irrigated) on the masive plateau surrounding Waterville, WA. We have already significantly modified the desert environment there for other purposes. Look at all the square areas of wheat farming.

Go find "Atomic City, ID" in a satellite view and look at the desert brush land surrounding it for an area that's so arid that humans haven't even tried to irrigate it or do something like dry land wheat farming.