The End of Nature (Bill McKibben 1989)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Nature

The End of Nature is a book written by Bill McKibben, published by Anchor in 1989. It has been called the first book on global warming written for a general audience. McKibben had thought that simply stating the problem would provoke people to action.

He describes nature as a force previously independent of human beings, but which is now directly affected by the actions of people.

"If the waves crash up against the beach, eroding dunes and destroying homes, it is not the awesome power of Mother Nature. It is the awesome power of Mother Nature as altered by the awesome power of man, who has overpowered in a century the processes that have been slowly evolving and changing of their own accord since the earth was born."

He offers two paths forward: "The Defiant Reflex" or a "more humble" way of living.

We have changed the atmosphere, and thus we are changing the weather. By changing the weather, we make every spot on earth man-made and artificial. We have deprived nature of its independence, and that is fatal to its meaning. Nature's independence is its meaning; without it there is nothing but us. (ibid, p. 54)