Gaia going, going...

We've got more urgent things to do than try to save the planet? Maybe the coming climatic catastrophe (from our POV) will "select a better class of humans"? Wow. Does James Lovelock have grandchildren?





Vanishing Face of Gaia, 1-2

1. Why does James Lovelock consider the word "Earth" inadequate? What does he expect to experience in space?

2. What's the root cause of the climate crisis? What do Al Gore, the IPCC, business, & governments still not understand? What's our "proper place"? What should be our species' goal now?

3. How does Lovelock's view differ from that of most climate scientists? What is their allegedly-errant assumption? Who does he blame for their mistake?

4. How are we like flood victims? What's our greatest hubris? Should we fear wild nature?

5. What will the British Isles, New Zealand, and a few other temperate places be "for humanity," in the coming crisis? Can they "save the planet"? Can wind, solar, and biofuels?

6. What did William James say is our "trouble"? Which JPL scientist best understood Gaia? Why have Americans been slow to grasp it? Who manages the climate? Do we need the "moral equivalent of war" to confront it?

7. What have environmentalists mistakenly opposed? How have they "sown the seeds of their own destruction"?

8. What's Lovelock's response to the criticism that his position is hopeless? Does he think we should "plant a tree"? Does he think we've heard his (and Tim Flannery's) wake-up calls? What kind of philosophy do we need now? Will Gaia nurture us through our troubles? How are we a "vital part" of her?

9. Does the welfare of humanity come first, for Lovelock? Do our needs coincide with the planet's?

10. What kind of science is "biogeochemistry"?

11. Would a 60% global reduction in fossil fuel emissions be good?

12. What do humans hate above all? What did Bertrand Russell say about this?