A one-sided love affair?

The planet does not want us. There might have been a moment early on, when we were all animists, when the planet entertained the notion of a relationship. That moment did not last. Other, more powerful superstitions made nature worship a minority belief at best — and at worst a sin punishable by being burnt at the stake. Humanity renounced animism and the planet’s hope for a mutually fulfilling relationship slipped away.

Despite that renunciation, humanity’s belief in its own love of nature remained strong. We even convinced ourselves that our love wasn’t one-sided, that nature actively…