surviving

Vanishing Face of Gaia, 8-9

1. How did Lovelock's childhood awaken his love of nature? What does he say is the value of knowing the common names of plants?

2. How did Lovelock "accidentally start" the '70s environmental movement? What was his "disastrous encounter with biofuels"? What did he decide was the "proper thing to do"? "Why was it a mistake to plant trees?" Why didn't his "snake-and-potato farm" succeed?

3. What's Lovelock's objection to "environmentally friendly energy"? What does he (did he?) prefer instead?

4. What "watershed" was marked by the publication of Silent Spring? What kind of "green" is Lovelock? What made environmentalism militant, partisan, and contentious? What part does Lovelock say he played in that?

5. How does Lovelock think liberal humanism distorts environmentalism? What's wrong with the iconography of windmills? What does the "benign ethic" of Southern Baptists have to do with environmental issues?

6. What must we do to be "truly environmentally friendly"? What must we do to "Go West" in the near future?

7. What might have been the climatological impact of the use of fire by early humans? Should we feel guilty about it?

8. What's wrong with the concept of a "tipping point" for climate change? How great is the chance that we might reverse it? Are renewability and sustainability (etc.) constructive goals?

9. Optimistically, how long might Gaia take to recover from the current looming catastrophe? What is her "most inflexible" rule? How long might life continue, if "some bright intelligence" succeeds us?

10. What does E.O. Wilson's "super-intelligent alien" say about life on Earth? How do we thwart our best intentions? What kind of intelligence do we need?

11. What caused the current crisis? Wherein lies our best hope? What kind of animal are we? What kind of  "great and proud future" can we still have? Who should select humanity's survivors?