I'm sure the answer is sociologically complex. I think one factor that may be driving that phenomenon is the nature of economics and the pursuit of power generally.
Our economies are built around making things and selling them. Just sitting around and enjoying nature doesn't make anybody any money. So instead they create businesses and manufacturing plants and make a bunch of stuff to get more money and power.
There are a few businesses that try to organize themselves around nature, like tourist companies and such, but they are the minority.
@empiricism
One more thing...
It's ironic that the instinct to pursue power and wealth is a psychological phenotype that was shaped naturally by the evolutionary pressures on our species.