THE GAEA HYPOTHESIS

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Lovelock suggests that Life began to shape Its expression on earth many millions of years ago. It did this by creating the atmosphere we now know from random gases and for the purpose of developing a suitably protective mantle that would allow the more delicate expressions of the larger organism to emerge. Life, then—human beings notwithstanding—is, significantly, intelligent and has direction.

Interestingly enough, the scientific community is finding that many supposed anomalies are explained by Lovelock's hypothesis. According to the laws of chemistry, for instance, most of the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere should have ended up in the seas as nitrate ions long ago. Biological factors, however, do not permit this. Rather, they modify the chemical process to the advantage of the living organism.

They use the process to continuously refresh the atmosphere.

Lovelock—whose work on industrial pollution is supported by numerous large corpo rations—indicates that the health of the one earth organism is deteriorating rapidly. He cites, for example, that an immense danger is emerging from the practices of modern agriculture. A greater danger to Life, in fact, is developing in this area of man's activities than in all the other pollution-producing activities of industrial technology put together.

Man's efforts to feed his proliferating population have resulted in "modern" farming techniques and the wholesale use of inorganic methods. Techniques and methods that disrupt the balance of the whole organism and which have begun to destroy delicately balanced ecological systems within the organism. And Gaea needs these systems (such as the previously mentioned atmosphere which, when properly maintained, supplies the oxygen we need, filters out the sun's dangerous cosmic rays and keeps them from harming us, etc.).

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