Marc Bekoff is professor emeritus of ecology and evolution at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The author or editor of 25 books, he can be reached at www.marcbekoff.com.

Given the catastrophic challenges of global warming and other ecological disasters, Bekoff states:

"Rewilding our hearts is about becoming re-enchanted with nature. It is about nurturing our sense of wonder. Rewilding is about being nice, kind, compassionate, empathetic, and harnessing our inborn goodness and optimism."

With seven billion humans on the planet, the stakes are quite high. We must think globally and act locally. Bekoff laments our alienation from other forms of life and our inability to see the big picture. That can be remedied by reading Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics by Paul Taylor where he presents four rules for interacting with animals and other nature. Among them are fidelity and restorative justice.

Later, Bekoff presents his own eight P's of rewilding. It needs to be "proactive, positive, persistent, patient, peaceful, practical, powerful, and passionate." The author hopes we can translate rewilding into "a global social movement" which can unify us once and for all. We better get going since time is running out to save the planet for future generations.