goddessing

Gaia is a tough bitch.

(James Lovelock, quoting a colleague)
The Prophet of Climate Change: James Lovelock

I recommend this very readable article on James Lovelock, who postulated the Gaia Theory (Earth is a living, self-regulating, superorganism), and on his ideas about climate change, civilization, and what choices we humans have in terms of life as we know it and life as it will be in the next 10 to 100 years.

Lovelock is writing his fourth book about Gaia, the first three being Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, The Ages of Gaia, and The Revenge of Gaia.

Many scientists disagree with the warnings and predictions Lovelock writes about in his third book, but many of them who today agree with his Gaia Theory disagreed with it when it was published.

In Lovelock's view, it's too late to reverse the damage we've inflicted on this lovely, formerly blue, planet. He's convinced that radical changes are just ahead of us and that while "the planet itself will eventually recover its equilibrium, even if it takes millions of years," the survival of human civilization is not so certain. He suspects that by the end of this century, the earth's human population, currently 6.6 billion, will be reduced to about 500 million. How we'll be living then is anybody's guess: perhaps in a Dark Age of feudalism or, if we're smart and start thinking now about what's apparent all around us, in some kind of enlightened relationship with each other, the planet, and our role as "the brains and nervous system of Gaia."

Last year, when I read about Lovelock's third book and contemplated his conviction (despite personal optimism) that it's too late to save the planet from the logical consequences of what we've done to it, I was oddly calmed. That question, "what more can I do to save this planet," the one that had driven me like so many of us for 25 years or more, finally had some definitive answers.

Fifty-something and disabled, there's truthfully very little more I can do. Oh of course I'll continue to reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink. My partner will up telecommuting from one day a week to two as soon as possible. Our next vehicle will be a hybrid. We'll finally do what's taken some time for the squeamish one of us to get behind: worm composting. We keep the thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer, and dress accordingly (our friends know to dress for the indoor temperatures when they visit). Already most of what we eat is produced and purchased locally, is organic, and, in the case of animal protein, is free range.

Above and beyond these and other responsible acts? I have my answer: Be conscious, each moment possible, of the beauty of life around and within me. Be conscious, be grateful, be awed. Marvel at the sound of sandhill cranes flying high above me as they migrate south. Feel the power and life-force of the broad-shouldered hawk that perches in the oaks between me and the lake. Speak the 10,000 names of the colors of water and sky in their daily variety. Love more, and be open to being loved more. Dream in winter of bloodroot in spring. Heal myself. Help others. Love the earth. Be here now.

Labels: beauty, climate change, earth, Gaia, goddess

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