The Nature Principle

Our experience with nature brings a sense of awe, wonder, and spirituality that varies from person to person. This wonder, Louv points out, nourishes a spiritual life. Whether you are in awe of nature because according to your religion, it is God’s creation, or you find peace while being outside, our connection to nature runs deeper than cohabitation. Nature slows us down and makes us aware of how awe-inspiring animals can be. Louv believes reconnection with nature will be his generation’s goal: “The great work of the twenty-first century will be to reconnect to the natural world as a source of meaning” (245). 

Aldo Leopold, the author of A Sand Country Almanac, is famous for his Land Ethic, which states that human ethics are directly tied with land ethics, and nature should be treated with the respect we would afford another human being. Louv participated in a land ethic conference at the Leopold Center, brainstorming with other environmentalists how to place this theory into practice.

Louv uses the terms “environmentalist” and “conservationist” with caution, as they have taken on specific meanings such as conservativism, hunters, or tree cutting. Political discourse has made many wary of using this vocabulary: “Our language has not kept pace with the changing realities of the human relationship with nature” (254).