Page Turner-The Enchanted Forrest

The German sociologist max Weber once wrote that centuries of industrialization and secularization had influenced widespread "disenchantment" with nature—a view of earth and its wildlife as inert objects for the taking. In his new book "A Reenchanted World," sociologist James William Gibson identifies a growing social movement, arguing that human connections with the earth are the last hope to save an environment at risk of permanently disappearing.

THE IDEA: The future of the earth depends on how humans feel when they interact with it. Until now, our exile from the natural world has been self-imposed. Finding new "enchantment" in it will be the key to environmental stability.

THE EVIDENCE: A conservationist who made eye contact with a harpooned, dying whale said it was a profoundly moving experience. In California, a protester sat for two years and formed a spiritual bond with a redwood tree at risk of being cut. To take a broader view, Christian leaders are now emphasizing "creation care," defining environmental protection as service to God. And the growth of ecowarrior groups such as Greenpeace proves a broadening coalition of people are willing to fight against the habits of environmental degradation that have endangered the earth.

THE CONCLUSION: Green marketing hasn't been the driver of modern environmental awareness. It's the jarring realization that human damage has long-term consequences. Only if all hope is gone, Gibson writes, will enchantment lose its attraction.