Dr. Lovelock (II) Planet Earth - The Revenge of Gaia

James Lovelock is the author of approximately 200 scientific papers, distributed almost equally among topics in Medicine, Biology, Instrument Science and Geophysiology. He has filed more than 50 patents, mostly for detectors for use in chemical analysis. One of these, the electron capture detector, was important in the development of environmental awareness. It revealed for the first time the ubiquitous distribution of pesticide residues and other halogen bearing chemicals. This information enabled Rachel Carson to write her book, Silent Spring, often said to have initiated the awareness of environmental disturbance. Later it enabled the discovery of the presence of PCB's in the natural environment. More recently the electron capture detector was responsible for the discovery of the global distribution of nitrous oxide and of the chlorofluorocarbons, both of which are important in the stratospheric chemistry of ozone. Some of his inventions were adopted by NASA in their programme of planetary exploration. He was awarded by NASA three certificates of recognition for these.

He is the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis (now Gaia Theory) and has written four books on the subject: Gaia: a new look at life on Earth, (Oxford University Press, 1979); The Ages of Gaia, (W. W. Norton, 1988); Gaia: the practical science of planetary medicine, (Gaia Books, 1991), and Homage to Gaia (2000).

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974 and in 1975 received the Tswett Medal for Chromatography. Earlier he received a CIBA Foundation Prize for research in Ageing. In 1980 he received the American Chemical Society's award for Chromatography and in 1986 the Silver Medal and Prize of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory. In 1988 he was a recipient of the Norbert Gerbier Prize of the World Meteorological Organization, and in 1990 was awarded the first Amsterdam Prize for the Environment by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1996 he received both the Nonino Prize and the Volvo Environment Prize, and in 1997 Japan's Blue Planet Prize. He has received honorary Doctorates in Science from the University of East Anglia 1982, Exeter University 1988, Plymouth Polytechnic (now Plymouth University) 1988, Stockholm University 1991, University of Edinburgh 1993, University of Kent and the University of East London in 1996, and from the University of Colorado in 1997. He was made a C.B.E. by Her Majesty the Queen in 1990.

James Lovelock's first interest is the Life Sciences, originally as Medical Research but more recently in Geophysiology, the systems science of the Earth. His second interest, that of instrument design and development, has often interacted with the first to their mutual benefit.

He is at present an Honorary Visiting Fellow of Green College, Oxford University.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• lovelock
• earth
• revenge
• gaia
• planet
• life
• death
• extinction
• global
• brain

[happinesson]

What kind of cells do you have in your head sir? your understanding is million mile far beyond mine!

[dltanner99]

Novel about Gaia hypothesis The Dare Island enigma see video book trailer

[XhemalceBioenergia]

Terrible Journalist! 

[BodomBantam]

The journalist interviewing Lovelock seems to be patronising him whilst being a bit dim herself, aggravating.