"... it may be too late to save ourselves from Gaia's reaction to having us around, and many millions are likely to die."
Gaia's doubtless pissed.
Don't laugh. They're serious.
[i have to apologize, they took the original image offline;
this one is almost as anthropomorphically
silly, though]
Unless, of course, the sun's period of extended quiescence from 2007-8 continues to extend itself. In which case the excess CO2 is all that's keeping us from another Ice Age. In which case, Gaia likes us.
Green cities, planting trees, renewable energy, decreasing carbon emissions and other pollutants are all good rational ideas.
Gaia is a silly concept. We live on a planet. We can screw it up, but we'd be killing ourselves. It would be cause-and-effect, but it wouldn't be the reaction of an angry planetary entity.
More science, please, and less New Age mythology. The neolithic and iron age stuff we're surrounded with is bad enough. There's no Hell below us, and above us only sky.
There's no planetary Goddess, either, any more than there is a Hairy Thunderer, a Cosmic Muffin, or a Flying Spagetti Monster.
3 comments:
I couldn't help myself. I had to smile at the picture of "gaia" you provided, plus the comment.
For the most part I agree with you, but the concept of gaia isn't going anywhere since the concept revolves around the religions of some groups. Religion is not very easily silenced. In this respect, gaia will continue.
The Gaia Theory (no longer hypothesis) came from the best interdiscipinary science. It has gained wide acceptance in the scientific community (and broad resistance) precisely because it challenges the existing scientific paradigm.
There is nothing religious in it other than consistency with millenia-old native wisdom traditions. Those who glibly dismiss it are those who either haven't bothered to study it or have a psuedo-religious antipathy toward it.
The Earth is an auto-poietic, self-regulating sentient being that has maintained conditions conducive to the evolution of life for 3.5 billion years. Homo(non)Sapiens is the only species capable of - and apparently determined to - disturb the delicate balance of Nature. One doesn't need to personify Gaia (in the way we've personified our Gods) in order to understand that she will do whatever is necessary to restore her balance, though it will likely take her millions of years to recover from our "collateral damage".
That's silly nonsense Riversong. I'm a scientist, and I assure you, there isn't the least amount of evidence for a self aware Earth.
You're not only dreaming, your misinforming yourself and anyone without the analytical ability to test your ideas.
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