Scientists Debate Gaia ? The Next Century

Beschreibung:

THERE ARE NO TARIFFS OR CUSTOMS DUTIES ON BOOKS. Scientists Debate Gaia is a multidisciplinary reexamination of the Gaia hypothesis, which was introduced by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the early 1970s. The Gaia hypothesis holds that Earth's physical and biological processes are linked to form a complex, self-regulating system and that life has affected this system over time. Until a few decades ago, most of the earth sciences viewed the planet through disciplinary lenses: biology, chemistry, geology, atmospheric and ocean studies. The Gaia hypothesis, on the other hand, takes a very broad interdisciplinary approach. Its most controversial aspect suggests that life actively participates in shaping the physical and chemical environment on which it depends in a way that optimizes the conditions for life. Despite initial dismissal of the Gaian approach as New Age philosophy, it has today been incorporated into mainstream interdisciplinary scientific theory, as seen in its strong influence on the field of Earth System Science. Scientists Debate Gaia provides a fascinating, multi-faceted examination of Gaia as science and addresses significant criticism of, and changes in, the hypothesis since its introduction. In the book, 53 contributors explore the scientific, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of Gaia. They address such topics as the compatibility of natural selection and Gaian processes, Gaia and the thermodynamics of life, the role of computer models in Gaian science (from James Lovelock's famous but controversial Daisyworld to more sophisticated models that use the techniques of artificial life), pre-Socratic precedents for the idea of a Living Earth, and the climate of the Amazon Basin as a Gaian system. Internally, the book appears as if unread. Dustjacket has one small tear, bottom right corner, and the black cloth board are slightly rubbed at the corners and edges Copyright © MIT Press. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 451565

Diesen Artikel melden

Inhaltsangabe:

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor:

Stephen H. Schneider was Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology at Stanford University. He was also Coordinating Lead Author of the IPCC's working group on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, from 1997 to 2001, and, with his IPCC colleagues, was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in 2007. He was the author or editor of many books, including Science as a Contact Sport: Inside the Battle to Save Earth's Climate and Scientists Debate Gaia: The Next Century (MIT Press, 2004).