The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning

This book is a curious and interesting blend of insights that sometimes resembles a rambling set of memories of a 90-year old man and at other times resembles the wise reflections of a scientist that no longer has any vested interests in being careful or political. This book will probably be of interest to those who are looking for insights on global warming. However, in that sense, this is a difficult book to categorize. On the one hand, Lovelock seems to espouse many of the doubts that global warming skeptics hold such as the inability of climate models to make accurate predictions, the religion-like nature of global warming belief and the fact that carbon reduction schemes are more economic opportunities than realistic ways of preventing global warming. On the other hand, Lovelock is even more pessimistic about global warming than what is usually portrayed as the official stance of global warming researchers. Not only does he believe global warming is happening, he believes it is happening more quickly and to a bigger degree than official estimates admit. Along the way, he shows a good deal of respect for some of the more well-known climatologists such as James Hansen, Stephen Schneider and Wallace Broecker. Lovelock's perspective, of course, comes from his espousal of the idea of Gaia, or in other words, that the Earth is a living system that self-regulates. This book, once again, covers some of the history of this perspective as well as implications of it. Many of these are interesting to read and provide a different way of looking at both global warming and environmental issues in general. Lovelock's basic outlook here is that global warming is happening, that it is basically unstoppable at this point and that we need to start thinking in terms of how we will adapt to live in a world that is much warmer and has much less habitable and productive land. He envisions certain areas being like lifeboats that support a much reduced population. This book provides a valuable and thought-provoking look at global warming which doesn't conform perfectly to either the pro-warming or skeptical side. It is a difficult outlook to accept for anyone who is staunchly defensive of either of these two "sides" of the popular global warming debate, but for anyone with an open mind on the issue, it offers some interesting perspectives that may suggest some hard realities that will need to be faced. Lovelock seems to believe that Gaia theory has been successful in real-world predictions and that a different take on climate modeling suggests something different than the official climate models. If he's right, we probably won't have to wait too much longer for confirmation. In any case, this book is a valuable addition to the somewhat saturated discourse on global warming.

This book has a helpful perspective in assessing the growing dangers of global warming. Lovelock is a scientist...whose career began as a specialist in chemical intrusions into the environment...and continued to evolve as planetary scientist at JPL in California and in Houston. This book goes beyond his early specialty scientific work to focus upon the "big picture" physics of the planet. It's a perspective that goes beyond solely anthropocentric derived concerns. For this reason, it has the potential to be irritating...and even unacceptable...to some early 21st century readers. To my mind, this is a all the more reason to read it and understand its message. When the Challenger exploded, Richard Feynman, the Nobel laureate on the study panel, eschewed esoteric specialized explanations for the catastrophe, by focusing upon the contraction of the Challenger's o-rings in ice water. The failure of a complex system like Challenger...as the earth system Lovelock has named, Gaia...could be explained by something as simple as the contraction of the o-ring material in a glass of iced water. Similarly, James Lovelock cuts to the quick concerning the planet's ocean system...and the physics of the continuing melting at the poles...and in fact for 97% of the earth's glaciers. Whenever, due to greenhouse gases...especially carbon dioxide...ice melts and open water is exposed, 80% of heat is absorbed, instead of reflected. This additional heating then accelerates ocean heating...as once ice melts it's 60 times easier to raise its temperature. It's what's called a positive feedback loop. Except, for one little thing....It's decidedly a negative for humanity. As this science is fundamentally being accepted by the IPCC, Lovelock then proceeds to connect the dots in a way that the IPCC does not. Lovelock, James Hansen of NASA, and other prominent climate scientists have given their warnings. Locklock in this book, and Hansen in his assertion that 350 ppm must be maintained, in order to avoid the Gaia earth system from flipping to a new equilibrium, at an average mean temperature not to our liking...and in fact, threatening the survival of our civilization. Modern society shows no signs of effectively acting on this most crucial issue. The fact that the Gaia earth system's history demonstrates that this change of equilibrium can be quite abrupt, adds urgency to his warning. He then ruminates, not only on the negative effects of the increased specialization of science....but also, on the flaws in the modern environmental movement itself. He finds them both wanting. One of the points I find great sympathy with, is his stance on nuclear power. Though I live but six miles "as the crow flies" from Three Mile Island, I completely agree that the fear mongering regarding nuclear power has been an enormous burden on the truth. Lovelock explodes these myths effectively with several telling examples. Nuclear does not produce greenhouse gases...and storage is not the bog

Many long term-term scenarios for climate change are threatening and chocking. They arouse emotions and bewilderment and it is often difficult to find a way to debate climate change in a constructive way. This is where this book helps, because Lovelock, the creator of the Gaia hypothesis (!), is a pragmatist with no romantic views about saving the planet at all cost. He is a scientist who has studied the chemistry and physics of the planet all his life and he asks himself what can be done to make life on the planet more sustainable. This pragmatism may surprise some readers. For example, Lovelock is a supporter of nuclear power because of the simple reason that it is a technology we already master sufficiently well to reduce emissions drastically. On the other hand, wind- and wave power is too far in the future to make a substantial impact now. Lovelock has no sympathy for the media, because, in his view, they have contributed to the confusion about the realistic energy options. The book changed my understanding of the issue as a whole. Lovelock is not a professional writer and he admits it. The book is easy to read - no complex formulas - but a professional editor could have structured it better and made the book more useable as a reference.

There is nothing humans can do at this point to reverse global warming: the planet's too overpopulated to halt its own destruction by greenhouses gases. That's the contention of scientist James Lovelock, inventor of the Gaia Theory which claims the Earth is a living, self-regulating super organism. In order to survive, humans must begin preparing now for life on a radically changed planet - such survival to include nuclear energy and aggressive agricultural development in selected, predicted-stable areas of the world. A powerful, different kind of wake-up call, this deserves a place in every lending library concerned about mankind's future on Earth.

Essential reading for everyone concerned about the survival of family and progeny as this century progresses and the disasters of food production failure, energy depletion and materials shortages unfold. Also, all politicians and policy makers planetwide need to know from this book that the collapse is nearly inevitable. Lovelock contends that the continuation of advanced civilization is at stake, not to mention most of the biota on the planet. Controlled shrinkage of economies (as opposed to the mantra of "growth") should be the first order of business to lessen the number of billions who will die of war, famine, genocide and disease, and to salvage as much as possible of the human cultures over the globe.