Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

Author's preface; Introduction; Chapter 1 Recognising Gaia; Chapter 2 Anatomy; Chapter 3 Physiology; Chapter 4 Epigenesis; Chapter 5 Biochemistry and the cell; Chapter 6 Metabolism and planetary biochemistry; Chapter 7 Physiology and climate regulation; Chapter 8 The people plague; Conclusion; Glossary; Index

Science & Math

LOVELOCK, J.E.

Biological Sciences

Oxford University Press

James Lovelock's "Gaia theory" showed that the Earth, its rocks, oceans and atmosphere and all living things are part of one great organism, evolving together over the vast span of geological time. He elaborates here the basis of a new and unified view of the Earth and life sciences, discussing recent scientific developments: the greenhouse effect, acid rain, the depletion of the ozone layer and the effects of ultraviolet radiation, the emission of CFCs and nuclear power. Using the imaginary planet Daisyworld as a model, he demonstrates the geophysical interaction of atmosphere, oceans, climate and the Earth's crust, regulated comfortably for life by living organisms using the energy of the sun. The Gaia theory is seen to force a planetary perspective and concentrates on the health of the planet, rather than individual species of organisms. This hypothesis raises philosophical and religious questions which Lovelock tackles in a chapter on "God and Gaia". James Lovelock has also written "Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth" and "The Greening of Mars".

Ages of Gaia

Earth Sciences

Oxford Univ. Pr.

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.

In The Revenge of Gaia , bestselling author James Lovelock- father of climate studies and originator of the influential Gaia theory which views the entire earth as a living meta-organism-provides a definitive look at our imminent global crisis. In this disturbing new book, Lovelock guides us toward a hard reality: soon, we may not be able to alter the oncoming climate crisis. Lovelock's influential Gaia theory, one of the building blocks of modern climate science, conceives of the Earth, including the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere and upper layers of rock, as a single living super-organism, regulating its internal environment much as an animal regulates its body temperature and chemical balance. But now, says Lovelock, that organism is sick. It is running a fever born of the combination of a sun whose intensity is slowly growing over millions of years, and an atmosphere whose greenhouse gases have recently spiked due to human activity. Earth will adjust to these stresses, but on time scales measured in the hundreds of millennia. It is already too late, Lovelock says, to prevent the global climate from flipping” into an entirely new equilibrium state that will leave the tropics uninhabitable, and force migration to the poles. The Revenge of Gaia explains the stress the planetary system is under and how humans are contributing to it, what the consequences will be, and what humanity must do to rescue itself.

The Revenge of Gaia

LOVELOCK, James

Basic Books

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Books by LOVELOCK, J.E.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by LOVELOCK, J.E.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

Ages of Gaia

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

The Revenge of Gaia