Its fascinating how powerful #animism was at protecting the environment for most of existence. I just learned recently that the #nymphs in #Greek#mythology really no different than local #Shinto deities, or animal spirits of the Americas. Every rock, stream and tree had a spirit attached to it, and if one wanted to change or use the land, they had to know how to appeal to these spirits and do it sparingly.
Even #polytheists had some variety of lesser animistic spirits that get lost among the big names. Of course, major roman brownies got upgraded to gods when they saw and liked the Greek #pantheon.
To this day even if they don't actually believe in it, Icelanders use the concepts of land #elves as kind of an extra layer of bureaucracy before changing the land. Animists have been looked down on, as the most primitive form of religion. As modern science shows us that the environment is one of the most important things to protect, perhaps it is the most important and advanced form of #religion .
Wanton destruction of the planet only happened when we switched to #monotheism and converted all those spirits into evil #demons in our minds. It opened up many new scientific and technological advances but wrecked the planet. Perhaps we need some form of applied animistic bureaucracy such as giving all things a certain level of rights and autonomy to ensure they survive for future generations to also enjoy. #environmentalism