Gaia hypothesis proposed that the Planet Earth functions as a
self-regulating system, similar to a living organism (states that that living
and non-living parts of the Earth are a complex interacting system, in which
living things have a regulatory effect that promotes life overall)
It
suggests that species whose effects on the environment are life-enhancing will
prosper, while others will not, kind of like a system of natural selection for
the entire biosphere “those organisms which made their environment more comfortable
for life left a better world for their progeny, and those which worsened their
environment spoiled the survival chances of theirs”
Earthrise was captured by Astronaut Bill Anders #Apollo 8, 1968
The idea sparked debates and controversy when James Lovelock and
microbiologist Lynn Margulis proposed it during the early times of environmental
activism 1970s, but Earth scientists now accept many of its basic principles.
In recent times Lovelock himself had been calling Gaia a theory.
In 2006, Lovelock published his book The Revenge of Gaia predicted disastrous effects of
climate change within the next few decades, he wrote that “only a handful of
the teeming billions now alive will survive”.
One can argue that we have already surpassed Gaia's powers by unintentional geoengineering this
planet, pumping immense quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
One of the paradoxical arguments is that when did Gaia begin, we know that Most Life became diversified during the Cambrian explosion, so
the event of oxygen
catastrophe which killed anaerobes but at the same time created the ozone layer
is a bit confusing if we explain it using Gaia
We have robust evidence to say that Earth does possess the ability to recycle matter via plate tectonics and maintain a balance among the components of the Earth System
During
the Great Oxygenation/Oxidation Event, the oxygenation of the Earth’s
atmosphere took place and huge deposits of Banded Iron Formations forms around
the planet some 2 billion years ago, and it also resulted in one of the first known
mass extinctions wiping out anaerobes thriving on surface environments of and
pushed them deeper down into the oceans and the crust.
There are some
tantalizing phenomena in nature that can be attributed to Gaia, check this Venn diagram out
like the influence
of microbes on precipitation, “the same bacteria that cause frost damage on
plants can help clouds to produce rain and snow. Studies on freshly fallen snow
suggest that ‘bio-precipitation’ might be much more common than was suspected.
Before a
cloud can produce rain or snow, raindrops or ice particles must form. This
requires the presence of aerosols: tiny particles that serve as the nuclei for
condensation. Most such particles are of mineral origin, but airborne microbes
— bacteria, fungi, or tiny algae — can do the job just as well. Unlike mineral
aerosols, living organisms can catalyze ice formation even at temperatures
close to 0 ºC”
So Gaia might not seem a real possibility but at the same time, it may sound foolish to think that on a planet filled with life,
life forms do not act in their self-interest to maintain suitable conditions in
their respective ecosystems, however, it is not clear when the behavior of many species as be described
as a superorganism having some level of consciousness.
I find Gaia a dangerous idea because it can cause us to care
less about the planet and keep on the business-as-usual attitude, ending on a
positive note I hope that we can come to terms with the current issues and
solve them before it is too late.
Labels: biosphere, Gaia hypothesis, Gaia theory, geobiology, James Lovelock, Lynn Margulis
