F. Marina Schauffler

David Brower, the renowned 20th century conservationist, repeatedly referred to environmentalism as "the religion." Indeed, a growing number of individuals view their environmental efforts as more a sacred calling than a secular one. Turning to Earth examines the often religiously-cast “dynamic inner process by which people come to ally themselves with the natural world and speak out on its behalf.”

Marina Schauffler calls this process “ecological conversion.” She relates how "convert" Terry Tempest Williams and other notable writers including Rachel Carson, Alice Walker, Edward Abbey, Scott Russell Sanders and N. Scott Momaday gained their faith in Nature.

She explores their childhood activities, family influences, literary mentors, and other sources of inspiration. She describes their activism, rituals, and revelations which affirm the “sense of belonging to a sacred whole.”

The book illustrates that “a path to the heart of environmental change” frequently traverses sacramental ground.… (más)