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Reanimating the ‘living Earth’ concept for a more cynical world
- Science writer Ferris Jabr has reanimated the idea of a “living Earth” and co-evolution of the Earth and life over geological time. In his book “Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life” Jabr argues that the appreciation of these synchronies can help us to steer away from environmental breakdown. The book is a reappraisal of the Gaia hypothesis, proposed in 1972 by British scientist James Lovelock and developed by US microbiologist Lynn Margulis. With almost 50 years’ worth of scientific evidence now available to back up the theory of the earth’s biosphere as a self-regulating living organism, Jabr suggests we have the tools to mitigate the worst impacts of environmental breakdown.
- Becoming Earth is structured into three parts; Rock, Water, and Air. Accessible scientific discussions are interspersed with reportage based on Jabr’s visits to various research sites. The book kicks off at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota in search of iron-loving microbes and continues through exploration of soil, oxygenation of the atmosphere, rainforest 'rain making', and how humans tipped the system by hunting megafauna into extinction. Jabr suggests that tools to mitigate the worst impacts of environmental breakdown will likely require far more than just cutting emissions.
- A criticism of the original Gaia hypothesis is that it may have fuelled a type of climate denialism. Science historian Leah Aronowsky argued that Gaia created the conditions for people to deny humans’ unique capacity to tip the system. In contrast, Jabr uses the concept of a Living Earth to deepen the understanding of the interdependency between life and the environment to help adjust human behavior for the collective survival of Earth.
- Becoming Earth is an impressive debut from the Oregon-based writer. In an epilogue, Jabr revisits James Lovelock, the British scientist who proposed the Gaia hypothesis, at his home in Dorset, England in 2022, three years before his death. The now 100-year-old Lovelock is still cheerful and articulate, though according to Jabr prone to the occasional alarmist statement. Nevertheless, the living Earth concept is alive and kicking in 2024.
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