This website was originally set up for the October 2006 conference: “The Gaia Theory: Model and Metaphor for the 21st Century”. It now provides resources and information on Gaia Theory and related topics.
Bill McKibben discusses Lovelock’s “The Revenge of Gaia” in his Essay “How Close to Catastrophe?” Click Here
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Martin
Ogle |
Announcements New book on Gaia Theory just published! Gaia Theory, which holds that Earth's physical and biological processes are inextricably bound to form a self-regulating system, is more relevant than ever in light of increasing concerns about global climate change. The Gaian paradigm of Earth as a living system, first articulated by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the 1970s, has inspired a burgeoning body of researchers working across disciplines that range from physics and biology to philosophy and politics. Gaia in Turmoil reflects this disciplinary richness and intellectual diversity, with contributions (including essays by both Lovelock and Margulis) that approach the topic from a wide variety of perspectives, discussing not only Gaian science but also global environmental problems and Gaian ethics and education. Click Here to learn more about this book at MIT Press.
Overall, the Gaia Theory is a compelling new way of understanding life on our planet. It argues that we are far more than just the "Third Rock from the Sun," situated precariously between freezing and burning up. The theory asserts that living organisms and their inorganic surroundings have evolved together as a single living system that greatly affects the chemistry and conditions of Earth’s surface. Some scientists believe that this “Gaian system” self-regulates global temperature, atmospheric content, ocean salinity, and other factors in an “automatic” manner. Earth's living system appears to keep conditions on our planet just right for life to persist! The Gaia Theory has already inspired ideas and practical applications for economic systems, policy, scientific inquiry, and other valuable work. The future holds more of the same. See Understanding Gaia Theory for more information.
Nothing less than a public conference about
Earth science and our relationship to our planet. The following
summarizes the conference goals:
Click Here for background and general
information on the conference. Conference Speakers Reading List for Gaia Theory
Click Here to download
the reading list as a MS Word document |
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Last updated: 02/03/2010 |