Gaia: A New Look at Life on EarthOxford University Press, 1987 - 157 The Gaia hypothesis, first put forth in the mid-1960s, and published in book form in 1975, has had a radical effect on scientific views of evolution and the environment. Fiercely debated by biologists, chemists, and cyberneticists, it has been the subject of numerous conferences and a BBC special which aired on public TV's "Nova" series. Green Peace and other environmental groups have embraced the theory, and Isaac Asimov incorporated it into two his science fiction novels. Now, James Lovelock provides a new preface to his his seminal work, confronting his critics, and, addressing the current advances in science and technology, demonstrates how his predictions have already begun to be fulfilled. According to the Gaia hypothesis, the environment does not coincidentally support life on earth; rather the two interact much the way a bird and its nest interact. "The Earth's living matter," writes Lovelock, "air, oceans, and land surface form a complex system which can be seen as a single organism and which has the capacity to keep our planet a fit place for life." This revolutionary book offers the clearest explanation of the interaction of life and the environment. |
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... species may have found it more conve- nient to gather their essential components by feeding on the living . The theory of Gaia has developed to the stage where it can now be demonstrated , with the aid of numerical models and computers ...
... species may have found it more conve- nient to gather their essential components by feeding on the living . The theory of Gaia has developed to the stage where it can now be demonstrated , with the aid of numerical models and computers ...
Strona 110
... species . It seems that as a species we can already withstand the normal range of exposure to the numerous hazards of our environ- ment . If for any reason one or more of these hazards should increase , both individual and species ...
... species . It seems that as a species we can already withstand the normal range of exposure to the numerous hazards of our environ- ment . If for any reason one or more of these hazards should increase , both individual and species ...
Strona 119
... species . A vast increase in kelp production might increase the flux of methyl chloride ( the natural equivalent of the aerosol- propellant gases ) and create a problem almost identical to that alleged to be the consequence of the ...
... species . A vast increase in kelp production might increase the flux of methyl chloride ( the natural equivalent of the aerosol- propellant gases ) and create a problem almost identical to that alleged to be the consequence of the ...
Spis treści
Introductory | 1 |
In the beginning | 13 |
The recognition of Gaia | 33 |
Prawa autorskie | |
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