The Gaia Theory
Of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis
Of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis
Links to some web sites and other pages that explore the theory a little. The Gaia Theory is rather complex in its history and acceptance, or lack thereof, and we can only briefly explore this. A search of the Web via Google brought up lots of hits, some of which are strange and interesting. But the sites below are more concise and pertinent.
The Gaia Hypothesis - this is a very good site with a nice history of the origin of the hypothesis, its developmental history, some of the evidence for it, all laid out chronologically. Note that this site is "Section Two." See also the Introduction and Forward. Also, at the bottom of each section are links to the next sections that cover related topics.
The Gaia Hypothesis - some concise lecture notes from Sean Chamberlain at Fullerton College in California. Strong and Weak Gaia - a pdf file. This is an excerpt from an Honors Thesis by Brent Bauman where he lays out Kirchner's criticism of the Gaia Hypothesis and his distinction beteen strong and weak Gaia. Two pages long. The Feasibility of a Testable Gaia Hypothesis - pdf file. This is the 1998 Honors Thesis by Brent Bauman the above "strong/weak Gaia" comes from. It focuses on the criticisms of the Gaia hypothesis, and rebuttals made against the criticism. It explores in particular "The Nature of Science and Scientific Testability" as it applies to Kirchner's criticism of Gaia based on Karl Popper's definitions of science, and the application of General Systems Theory and mathematical ecological modeling as related to the Daisyworld Models. Already at 29 pages I have not included any of the references. If you want them come see me. Or, would you like the Encyclopedia Britanica version Some incisive notes from The University of Michigan titled "A Goddess of the Earth" The Gaia Hypothesis, Autoevolution, and Deep Ecology - This is a nice site at the Arizona State University Libraries, with lots of links to brief synopses of various subjects on Gaia, and related topics. Return to Biology/Geology 350 course page.