ABSTRACT
The Gaia hypothesis that the Earth works as a single self-sustaining unit, even a living being, possibly a conscious one, was a motif of the Green movement in the 1980s and 1990s. Conceived by the biologist James Lovelock in the late 1960s, the theory holds that our planet reacts to any form of atmospheric change to restore the best balance for life via sophisticated global feedback mechanisms. Gaia, named after the ancient Greek Earth goddess, whose title forms the root of both ‘geology’ and ‘geography’, has mixed implications for the Greens. If Gaia is alive, we should revere her and act with modest intentions towards her, perhaps. Yet, as Lovelock (1979) implies, within broad limits, whatever harm we do to Gaia, its mechanisms can be expected to counter our attacks, the need for an effective response is thus diminished.
