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  • From: Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] The loss of Lovelock
  • Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2022 05:41:45 -0700

"This week, Herbert Girardet examines the work and influence of James
Lovelock
<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0018hJtxt1YhS6_bt9mmlzbULxIEUk49Ncd2i8QJstuSK0JO85--Ger_zCyaQbl8eexZKSxqn29-HnYsusZEektvknOv2K4FMF1yLBTyqA52d2otMG3FqvzxF0fE0P5rYS73of_o7PrqjS9bKdADRWUEvw99A4SIYYio0GagEJl1Q2Zzla99I8EO_CMVu0IHkIQ&c=X0R8JaqqWkulrolFv_ly_Zc8dUZeRNcgnoXcjILbynmcFxCDRX3YrA==&ch=AGYuugzFBsTG6EGyhv41Gq5CtxILUkwRyk7_OKwJGn202ZyCFbkcwQ==>,
who died recently on his 103rd birthday. Lovelock’s ‘Gaia’ theory changed
the way scientists see the world, from an object to a living being named
after the Greek earth goddess. Perhaps this suggests a romantic worldview
– but Lovelock’s recommendations for getting us out of the climate crisis
were very much radically inventive and based on high-end technological
advancements. One of his boldest prescriptions was that we should allow
artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of super-advanced robots to take
over, as they would do a much better job at keeping the earth’s temperature
within its safe limit. That’s some food for thought! "

James Lovelock will be for ever known for his Gaia theory - a huge
contribution to how we as humans understand and relate to the biosphere.
The news that James Lovelock has died has reverberated around the media.
This is no surprise since the importance of his life’s work has been
compared to that of Charles Darwin’s.
He was an inventor of a number of important scientific instruments, well
summarised in his Wikipedia entry. But his most widely acknowledged
contribution, of course, was revealed in his book Gaia,
A new look at life on earth, published in 1979: he boldly stated that life
on earth is a ‘superorganism’ that creates the very conditions for its own
well-being.
The Gaian view is that cooperation between living organisms and their
environment is the organising principle that created favourable conditions
for life on earth to thrive. Whilst Darwinian competition is acknowledged
in the Gaia hypothesis, it is not the dominant principle.

The loss of Lovelock
https://theecologist.org/2022/aug/02/loss-lovelock




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