Genesis: The Beginning

Genesis 1:
I love the first sentence of the bible: 1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters…

How peaceful does that sound? How clean and untarnished and full of hope. I imagine the water shimmering and reflecting God's appearance--and then...God begins to create. It was SO GOOD!
He keeps saying that. It is a masterpiece--and then--he makes humans in his image--and they get to "rule over" everything and "eat" everything He said to "be fruitful, fill the earth and subdue it." Then God rests.

This gives me chills knowing what I know now about how people have ruled the planet...how we don't spend much time, hovering over the water or resting, as God does in the poem. We don't spend too much time creating for others, as God does...we have consumed and multiplied and made the earth submit to us. God is the caretaker and creator. Humans--though the text says we are made in his image, are consumers. Humans and God seem a very clear contrast in the text.

Am I reading too much in to this from my guilty, environmentally conscious 21st century point of view. Too many viewings of The Lorax? Of  course! But I think there is some evidence that the author sees some contradictions too: mostly because Genesis 1 is followed by Genesis 2: the story of Adam and Eve. And while the story depicts a creation in which everything was good..we all know what is coming. So my lesson from Genesis 1: God rules over everything--he separates water and earth. He inflicts order, but he does so after hovering...and then he rests. The story is book ended by God taking his time, thinking about his actions. I imagine him hovering over the water coming up with a plan for how to proceed. Maybe as humans, we should "rule" with the same thoughtfulness. Is what we made good? Is it for the service of others? What image are we reflecting as we rule over the earth?

Off-topic thoughts:
*It's odd there is already water. For this and many other reasons, I really think it is wise to read this as a poem, not as a science lesson about the formation of Earth.
What a difference a word can make: was the earth "void" or "empty"? I'd like to keep reading for themes of emptiness and newness.
*Such an interesting use of the plural when God makes people in "our image" but in Gen. 1:1 the singular is used.