Books by James Lovelock
“This was a really quite radical notion that he developed of seeing the planet not as a dead entity on which life lives, but something that lives in the largest sense: that the biosphere, if you like, actively manages the atmosphere. Jim Lovelock was an old-school scientist, looking at this from a very scientific perspective. But whether you regard it as a literal truth or some kind of elaborate metaphor, it does seem to hold great power.” Read more...
Fred Pearce, Environmentalist
Ages of Gaia
by James Lovelock
Gaia is the Greek goddess of Mother Earth and Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis is the idea that life itself stabilises a planet’s environment. He would say that the reason the Earth is habitable is precisely because it is inhabited. It’s an interesting theory but I don’t think you have to have an inhabited planet in order to have a habitable planet.
Interviews where books by James Lovelock were recommended
Landmark Environmental Books, selected by Fred Pearce
The modern environmental movement emerged in the post-war world after humanity’s self-destructive capacity became undeniable, argues the veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce. Here, he highlights five landmark environmental books that have marked a shift in environmental thought.
