James Lovelock
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 08:56, 15 April 2011 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 22:06, 17 March 2019 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| + | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" | ||
| + | | style="text-align: left;" | | ||
| + | "[[Human]]s on the Earth behave in some ways like a [[pathogenic]] organism, or like the cells of a [[neoplasm|tumour]] or neoplasm. We have grown in numbers and disturbance to [[Gaia hypothesis|Gaia]], to the point where our presence is perceptibly disturbing ... the human species is now so numerous as to constitute a serious planetary malady. Gaia is suffering from Disseminated Primatemaia, a [[plague]] of people." --''[[Healing Gaia]]'' (1991) by James Lovelock, p. 153 | ||
| + | |} | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| '''James Lovelock''', [[Order of the Companions of Honour|CH]], [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]], [[Royal Society|FRS]] (born 26 July 1919) is an independent scientist, [[environmentalist]] and [[futurologist]] who lives in [[Devon]], [[England]]. He is best known for proposing the [[Gaia hypothesis]], which postulates that the [[biosphere]] is a self-regulating entity with the capacity to keep our planet healthy by controlling the chemical and physical environment. | '''James Lovelock''', [[Order of the Companions of Honour|CH]], [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]], [[Royal Society|FRS]] (born 26 July 1919) is an independent scientist, [[environmentalist]] and [[futurologist]] who lives in [[Devon]], [[England]]. He is best known for proposing the [[Gaia hypothesis]], which postulates that the [[biosphere]] is a self-regulating entity with the capacity to keep our planet healthy by controlling the chemical and physical environment. | ||
| + | === Nuclear power === | ||
| + | Lovelock has become concerned about the threat of global warming from the [[greenhouse effect]]. In 2004 he caused a media sensation when he broke with many fellow environmentalists by pronouncing that "only nuclear power can now halt global warming". In his view, nuclear energy is the only realistic alternative to fossil fuels that has the capacity to both fulfill the large scale energy needs of humankind while also reducing greenhouse emissions. He is an open member of [[Environmentalists for Nuclear|Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 2005, against the backdrop of renewed UK government interest in nuclear power, Lovelock again publicly announced his support for nuclear energy, stating, "I am a Green, and I entreat my friends in the movement to drop their wrongheaded objection to nuclear energy". Although these interventions in the public debate on nuclear power are recent, his views on it are longstanding. In his 1988 book ''[[The Ages of Gaia]]'' he states: | ||
| + | <blockquote>I have never regarded [[nuclear radiation]] or nuclear power as anything other than a normal and inevitable part of the environment. Our [[Prokaryote|prokaryotic]] forebears evolved on a planet-sized lump of [[Nuclear fallout|fallout]] from a star-sized nuclear explosion, a [[supernova]] that [[Nucleosynthesis|synthesised]] the [[Chemical element|elements]] that go to make our planet and ourselves. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | |||
| + | In ''[[The Revenge of Gaia]]'' (2006), where he puts forward the concept of [[sustainable retreat]], Lovelock writes:<blockquote>A television interviewer once asked me, "But what about nuclear waste? Will it not poison the whole biosphere and persist for millions of years?" I knew this to be a nightmare fantasy wholly without substance in the real world... One of the striking things about places heavily contaminated by radioactive nuclides is the richness of their wildlife. This is true of the land around [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]], the bomb test sites of the Pacific, and areas near the United States' [[Savannah River]] nuclear weapons plant of the Second World War. Wild plants and animals do not perceive radiation as dangerous, and any slight reduction it may cause in their lifespans is far less a hazard than is the presence of people and their pets... I find it sad, but all too human, that there are vast bureaucracies concerned about nuclear waste, huge organisations devoted to decommissioning power stations, but nothing comparable to deal with that truly malign waste, carbon dioxide.</blockquote> | ||
Revision as of 22:06, 17 March 2019
|
"Humans on the Earth behave in some ways like a pathogenic organism, or like the cells of a tumour or neoplasm. We have grown in numbers and disturbance to Gaia, to the point where our presence is perceptibly disturbing ... the human species is now so numerous as to constitute a serious planetary malady. Gaia is suffering from Disseminated Primatemaia, a plague of people." --Healing Gaia (1991) by James Lovelock, p. 153 |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
James Lovelock, CH, CBE, FRS (born 26 July 1919) is an independent scientist, environmentalist and futurologist who lives in Devon, England. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the biosphere is a self-regulating entity with the capacity to keep our planet healthy by controlling the chemical and physical environment.
Nuclear power
Lovelock has become concerned about the threat of global warming from the greenhouse effect. In 2004 he caused a media sensation when he broke with many fellow environmentalists by pronouncing that "only nuclear power can now halt global warming". In his view, nuclear energy is the only realistic alternative to fossil fuels that has the capacity to both fulfill the large scale energy needs of humankind while also reducing greenhouse emissions. He is an open member of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy.
In 2005, against the backdrop of renewed UK government interest in nuclear power, Lovelock again publicly announced his support for nuclear energy, stating, "I am a Green, and I entreat my friends in the movement to drop their wrongheaded objection to nuclear energy". Although these interventions in the public debate on nuclear power are recent, his views on it are longstanding. In his 1988 book The Ages of Gaia he states:
I have never regarded nuclear radiation or nuclear power as anything other than a normal and inevitable part of the environment. Our prokaryotic forebears evolved on a planet-sized lump of fallout from a star-sized nuclear explosion, a supernova that synthesised the elements that go to make our planet and ourselves.In The Revenge of Gaia (2006), where he puts forward the concept of sustainable retreat, Lovelock writes:
A television interviewer once asked me, "But what about nuclear waste? Will it not poison the whole biosphere and persist for millions of years?" I knew this to be a nightmare fantasy wholly without substance in the real world... One of the striking things about places heavily contaminated by radioactive nuclides is the richness of their wildlife. This is true of the land around Chernobyl, the bomb test sites of the Pacific, and areas near the United States' Savannah River nuclear weapons plant of the Second World War. Wild plants and animals do not perceive radiation as dangerous, and any slight reduction it may cause in their lifespans is far less a hazard than is the presence of people and their pets... I find it sad, but all too human, that there are vast bureaucracies concerned about nuclear waste, huge organisations devoted to decommissioning power stations, but nothing comparable to deal with that truly malign waste, carbon dioxide.
See also
