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Perhaps the reason that it is so difficult to pinpoint a definition of what it means to be alive is because this constantly changes as things become more or less significant to us. For example, before the dangers of deforestation were truly in the public eye, people did not consider trees "alive" enough to save from being cut down. However, we now have environmental groups chaining themselves to trees in order to protect and save forests from being destroyed. Because society's view of trees and deforestation has changed, due to the exhaustion of Earth's resources, their significance has changed as well. We give greater life to the things that have a direct impact on us, thereby always assigning and taking away value from our environment as our circumstances change.