This is one of my favorite conundrums about life you touched on above with another comment and this one. Does an advanced society really exist fully “in sync” with their environment? Probably no space program if so, technological progression is slowed to thousands or millions of years (think of only harvesting resources deposited by natural water flows etc). Or do successful lifeforms use up their planets (then solar systems) resources with enough time to get out of dodge?

Every planet and star system will kill their inhabitants sooner or later. Any culture that is gravity bound will surely perish without advances. The “Fermi Paradox” has always been more about threading a needle than a true/false statement for me.