James Lovelock
James Lovelock
James Ephraim Lovelock CH CBE FRSis an independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist who lives in Devon, England. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating system...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth26 July 1919
forests desert easier
Sadly, it's much easier to create a desert than a forest.
condition fever given soon state suffer took
We have given Gaia a fever and soon her condition will worsen to a state like a coma. She has been there before and recovered, but it took more than 100,000 years. We are responsible and will suffer the consequences.
against data ghost holy literally quite science sin whatsoever
Fudging the data in any way whatsoever is quite literally a sin against the holy ghost of science. I'm not religious, but I put it that way because I feel so strongly. It's the one thing you do not ever do. You've got to have standards.
adapt changes clearly earth emerges entity environment life material tightly
Life clearly does more than adapt to the Earth. It changes the Earth to its own purposes. Evolution is a tightly coupled dance, with life and the material environment as partners. From the dance emerges the entity Gaia.
beehive degrees english-scientist itself matter minus regulate
The beehive regulates its temperature as well as we do. The hive will regulate itself to 37 degrees no matter if it is minus 20 degrees outside.
anyone critics good mad mistake science
What I like about sceptics is that in good science you need critics that make you think: 'Crumbs, have I made a mistake here?' If you don't have that continuously, you really are up the creek. The good sceptics have done a good service, but some of the mad ones I think have not done anyone any favours.
almost britain gas gone greens knock pragmatic sensible switch trying
Gas is almost a give-away in the U.S. at the moment. They've gone for fracking in a big way. This is what makes me very cross with the greens for trying to knock it... Let's be pragmatic and sensible and get Britain to switch everything to methane. We should be going mad on it.
cells earth way
Humans on the Earth behave in some ways like a pathogenic micro-organism, or like the cells of a tumor.
whales atmosphere needs
The entire range of living matter on Earth from whales to viruses and from oaks to algae could be regarded as constituting a single living entity capable of maintaining the Earth's atmosphere to suit its overall needs and endowed with faculties and powers far beyond those of its constituent parts.
shapes favors environment
Nature favors those organisms which leave the environment in better shape for their progeny to survive.
inspirational dance evolution
Evolution is a tightly coupled dance, with life and the material environment as partners. From the dance emerges the entity Gaia.
should-have years rising
The world has not warmed up very much since the millennium. Twelve years is a reasonable time… it (the temperature) has stayed almost constant, whereas it should have been rising — carbon dioxide is rising, no question about that,
people genocide commit
There aren't just bad people that commit genocide; we are all capable of it. It's our evolutionary history.
oil nuclear coal
If a power station were to be built down the road, I'd prefer a nuclear plant over an oil burner, and definitely over a coal burner. We simply have to lessen our consumption of fossil fuels.