Also as for the issue of genetic engineering, you make some very good points. The key point here is the delicate balance of nature- whatever is introduced, be it engineered or natural (which I will call naturally evolved) can disturb this balance. There is a preponderance of crows here in Japan, and no doubt as they are better at surviving around urban areas other birds are at a disadvantage- this is a result of the human presence. Organisms stowing away on ships can also become unusually dominant in another area, threatening biodiversity. We are approaching a point at which we should become more aware of our effect and take a more active role in re-balancing those situations which we have disturbed. I believe we should take active steps to restore a biodiversity which has been lessened by our presence, most obviously in the case of animals that have been hunted to near-extinction.
As for engineering life, this can only be done safely when full studies are made as to it's compatibility with the surroundings into which it is introduced, and 'monster creatures' should be avoided at all costs. The risk you speak of is very real, yet I still believe that there are benefits from genetic technologies which we should look into. For example, diseases that were previously incurable could afterward be cured. In terms of agriculture, it will probably be used to make plants more suitable for our needs- yet they should only be done after rigorous testing. Any new technology needs such testing, yet so many have been introduced without serious problems that their benefits can outweigh the problems (for instance, computers).
Perhaps where we differ is that I believe, and believe the evidence shows, that the things living on the Earth were all originally genetically designed, with the building blocks of DNA- a kind of language of life. They have probably changed through evolution since, but the presence of this common language, shared by all biologic life- plant, animal or human- points towards it being an intelligent creation and not random chance. The very fact that our minds can comprehend this beauty and, the more we look into it, the majestic harmony and attention to detail, suggests that it is all the plan of an intelligent mind or minds. Incidentally, researchers are looking at a similar underlying code in the text of the Bible, which when rearranged as a DNA strand produces a whole new set of messages.
So for me the genetic technologies present a new set of opportunities for responsible persons and their discovery represents our increasing maturity as a species in the universe. Yet they should be very carefully monitored and controlled, as wrongly used they could produce a catastrophe. Nuclear power seems to present a similar dilemma even though it is now very widely used- yet here the harmful waste products make it 'beyond the pale' for many environmentalists, even though it presented a way to be largely free from fossil fuels. Perhaps a related technology, once perfected, will present a safe and steady stream of energy to power our needs.
So long as everything is properly regulated and there are enough persons with intelligence and broad minds, the future could be quite a lot better than the present, so I encourage intelligent, creative, responsible forms of progress. If I thought the present, or for that matter the past, was a total utopia such progress may be more scary and threatening to me. Yet seeing the ways things are and things were, it has wonderful possibilities, so long as all is managed responsibly.
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