Why is this bird angry? It’s angry because humankind has selfishly despoiled the Earth leaving other animals and plants without the resources they need to have viable life. Imagine walking down the street minding your own business and the squirrels and robins start to call you names and argue with you. They shout and tell you to go back to where you came from. They are disgusted with you and your species’ selfish behaviors. Imagine being called out as an entire species! Who might we negotiate with if we wanted to seek compromise and mend our ways?

But Nature appears to not have feelings. Life forms quietly become move anywhere might sustain them or go extinct. They don’t protest. They don’t make us feel guilty. Humankind doesn’t get a summons in the mailbox to appear at some tribunal. No. We just find ourselves slowly and slowly more alone in the world with this gnawing fear that life is out of balance.

Maybe we can begin by listening to the people who listen to Nature: the naturalists and biologists, the artists and scientists. Maybe we can start to listen better with our ears, eyes and hearts. And then we will scale back our ways.