What is the Verb?

When we look at our relationship with nature, understanding ourselves as nature, what is the verb that comes to mind?

“So what is the verb?” my friend Sharon looked at me as though it was the obvious question and I realized I didn’t have an answer. 

I’d been telling her why I thought this book was needed. Our relationship to nature is broken. We treat it as a resource to exploit, or somewhat better a resource to manage, and at best in most of our conversation, something…