GAIA She's A Tough Bitch takes a fresh look at the Gaia theory.
Put simply, Gaia (pronounced guy-yah) is the theory that the Earth is a type of living organism.
Charles Darwin's great insight was that all life on Earth is related by a common ancestry. His theory of evolution explains the continuity of life over geological time.
However, Darwinism does not account for the continuity of the Earth as a habitable planet over the same period.
In 1965 while working for NASA the British scientist, James Lovelock, had the idea that a mysterious entity he later called Gaia is responsible for the maintenance of the Earth as a habitable planet.
GAIA She's A Tough Bitch is an art/science picture book that gives a brief overview of Gaia: how the idea originated, the people involved, what defines Gaia, what its critics had to say, an explanation of Daisyworld, a look at Gaia using a specific example, how it relates to climate change and where Gaia stands today.
Over the last 40 years, Gaia has met with resistance from the scientific establishment. More recently, with the rise of Earth Systems Science, there are signs that the tide might be turning.
There's a lot riding on the outcome because if Gaia proves to be real, then James Lovelock, in collaboration with his co-author Lynn Margulis, has had one of the most brilliant insights into life on Earth since Charles Darwin.
Lovelock says that Gaia is elusive, hidden deep in the chemistry of the Earth. In his book, Greg Sugden has distilled the science and included over 40 artworks so that readers with little scientific literacy might catch a glimpse of 'her'.
Put simply, Gaia (pronounced guy-yah) is the theory that the Earth is a type of living organism.
Charles Darwin's great insight was that all life on Earth is related by a common ancestry. His theory of evolution explains the continuity of life over geological time.
However, Darwinism does not account for the continuity of the Earth as a habitable planet over the same period.
In 1965 while working for NASA the British scientist, James Lovelock, had the idea that a mysterious entity he later called Gaia is responsible for the maintenance of the Earth as a habitable planet.
GAIA She's A Tough Bitch is an art/science picture book that gives a brief overview of Gaia: how the idea originated, the people involved, what defines Gaia, what its critics had to say, an explanation of Daisyworld, a look at Gaia using a specific example, how it relates to climate change and where Gaia stands today.
Over the last 40 years, Gaia has met with resistance from the scientific establishment. More recently, with the rise of Earth Systems Science, there are signs that the tide might be turning.
There's a lot riding on the outcome because if Gaia proves to be real, then James Lovelock, in collaboration with his co-author Lynn Margulis, has had one of the most brilliant insights into life on Earth since Charles Darwin.
Lovelock says that Gaia is elusive, hidden deep in the chemistry of the Earth. In his book, Greg Sugden has distilled the science and included over 40 artworks so that readers with little scientific literacy might catch a glimpse of 'her'.
'Gaia is a tough bitch - a system that has worked for over three billion years without people. This planet's surface and its atmosphere and environment will continue to evolve long after people and prejudice are gone.'
LYNN MARGULIS - Distinguished University Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts and co-author of the Gaia theory.
'Future historians of science will see Lovelock as a man who inspired a Copernican shift in how we see ourselves in the world.'
TIM LENTON - Professor in Earth System Science, University of East Anglia.
LYNN MARGULIS - Distinguished University Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts and co-author of the Gaia theory.
'Future historians of science will see Lovelock as a man who inspired a Copernican shift in how we see ourselves in the world.'
TIM LENTON - Professor in Earth System Science, University of East Anglia.
GAIA She's A Tough Bitch may be ordered from Feral Physics Press for $29.95 plus postage.
Contact: feralphysics@bigpond.com
Or write to: 200 Wallace Street, Braidwood. NSW. 2622, Australia
Contact: feralphysics@bigpond.com
Or write to: 200 Wallace Street, Braidwood. NSW. 2622, Australia
Size 210 x 270cm 80 pages, 113gsm impress satin 40 artworks plus text ISBN 9780646543079