Re: And now for some good news - but completely OT
I am an urban dweller, but your thoughts that we've lost something isn't without basis.
I once did a survey of academic literature to see what leads to happiness for human beings. Turns out this is pretty difficult to narrow down, and most of the research is really good at demonstrating what will likely NOT make you happy.
Turns out, living closer to nature tends to increase happiness in part because it slows down our perception of how fast time passes. It allows you when you reflect on your life to believe it more meaningful as you felt like you spent "more time" in your past (VS a stressful grind in an office job with a stressful commute where you look back on life thinking "what the hell did I do!?")