Invisible Nature: Healing the Destructive Divide Between People and the Environment

This dense, solution-oriented study by U.C. Santa Cruz lecturer Worthy suggests that an empathetic reconnection to nature, both physical and social, is possible if people can grasp the outcomes of their actions. By having no proximity to our impact on the environment, and only abstract ideas of its consequences, ecological destruction becomes a banal, daily activity. Worthy explores how our approach to nature has changed, from the ancient Greek concept of the self as a separate entity to the modern concept of a passive “machine world.” The author argues that the obfuscation of our relation to the natural world is the route to emotional crisis, anxiety, and stress. Worthy attempts to understand the gulf between our desire to stop destroying the environment and our ability to do so, rather than simply condemning Americans as “cogs in the machine.” He offers realistic suggestions to bridge the gap, like adopting animals from shelters, community gardening, and providing schoolchildren with much-needed contact with natural landscapes. Worthy acknowledges that even though trying to change the routine of destruction may feel futile and the important transitions need to happen on a grand scale, individuals can still make a difference. Agent: Kimberly Cameron, Kimberly Cameron & Associates. (Aug.)