GAIA THEORY
Note: All posts are interconnected, so you are requested to read the previous posts before reading this post.
In the previous
section, the interaction of individual species with their environment was
highlighted. The Gaia theory introduces a further ‘paradigm shift’ taking Earth
as a single self-regulated organism, composed of all life tightly coupled with
the air, the oceans, and the surface rocks, rather than focusing on various
parts. This new paradigm shift was proposed by James Lovelock in the 70’s, as
Gaia Hypothesis which became one of the most hotly-debated topics within
scientific community.
This revolutionary
hypothesis strongly points towards the dynamic interconnectedness and
self-regulating nature of our planet Earth. It propounds that the Earth
functions as an interconnected living organism which maintains conditions
necessary for its survival. Lovelock defines Gaia as,
“.
. . a complex entity involving the Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans and
soil; the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an
optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet.”
Thus, Lovelock
proposes that the planet earth apparently exhibits the strange property of
keeping itself always fit and comfortable place for living things to inhabit.
Our biosphere is the 3-dimensional geographic region where living organisms
exist. Self-regulation is the property of the whole evolving system of life,
air, ocean and rocks. This has been called the Gaia Theory.
In the Gaian perception, our species along
with its technology is simply inevitable part of the larger Natural scene. The
three principal characteristics of Gaia as described below are considered
important;
1. Gaia’s most significant
characteristic is the tendency to maintain constant conditions for all
terrestrial life, provided, the state of homoeostatis[1]
(of Gaia) is not interfered by human beings.
2.
Gaia has vital organs at
its heart, as well as those that are expendable or redundant primarily at the
periphery. What we are doing to our world will significantly depend on where we
are doing it.
3.
Gaian responses to
changes for the worse must follow cybernetic laws where the time constant and
the gain in the chain are important factors.
Commenting on the
prevailing worldview, Lovelock mentioned that we human beings are too obsessed
with the belief that all that matters is the ‘good’ of human kind while
foolishly forgetting how much we depend upon all the other living things on
this planet. We need to love and respect the Earth with the same intensity that
we give to our families and our tribe for our own happy survival. Thus,
according to Gaia hypothesis we are parts of a greater whole. Our destiny is
not dependent merely for what we do for ourselves but also what we do for Gaia
as a whole. If we endanger her, she will dispense with us in the interest of
higher value -life itself.
Some Evidences Showing Self-Regulation
Following are
scientific pieces of evidences given by Lovelock in his book titled as ‘Gaia
Theory’ which indicate the self-regulated characteristics of Nature;
Regulation of Earth’s Temperature
The systems of
planet Earth can be thought of analogous to the workings of any individual
organism, say, a human body, that regulates body temperature, blood salinity
etc. So for instance, even though the luminosity of the sun – the Earth’s heat
source – has increased by about 30 percent since life began almost four billion
years ago, the living system has reacted as a whole to maintain temperatures at
levels suitable for life.
Regulation
of Salinity in the Oceans
There are
evidences, directly and indirectly, which show that the salinity level of sea -
water has varied very little in hundreds of millions of years from what is
required to sustain life of sea creatures. It is incredible to understand that,
despite broad flux differences as well as evaporation rates, the salinity of
sea water is quite tightly self-regulated around 3.4 percent, making it
conducive to aquatic animals.
Constancy of water at Sea Level
Lovelock claims
that there are evidences which show that the total volume of water, which is
approximately 1.2 thousand million cubic kilometers, remains unchanged while
the continents formed and deformed, sea level rose and fell, the polar ice
melted and refroze.
Thus, Gaia theory
clearly points towards the fact that there is interconnectedness and
self-regulation or a dynamic order in Nature even without the intervention of
human beings.
[1] The tendency is towards a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially maintained by physiological processes.
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