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Discovering Geology, Discovering Gaia

from Part V - Commentaries on Lovelock and Margulis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

By
Peter Westbroek
Edited by
Bruce Clarke  and
Sébastien Dutreuil
Bruce Clarke
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University
Sébastien Dutreuil
Affiliation:
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix-Marseille University
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Summary

As I write this, I am 84 years old. When I was 42, precisely halfway through my life so far, my contemporary, the microbial ecologist Wolfgang Krumbein, drew me into the Gaia debate. That was in the autumn of 1979, the moment when Lovelock’s seminal Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth made its appearance. Sadly, Wolfgang passed away a couple of months ago, but that does not alter the fact that both our lives were split in two equal halves, before and after Gaia. Gaia hit me with the strength of a lightning bolt, but unlike lightning, the impulse of Gaia persisted. I have chosen to delve into my own humble story to find out about the reason for this remarkable commitment. Why was I faithful to an idea that most scientists rejected when it appeared on the scene?

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Chapter
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Writing Gaia: The Scientific Correspondence of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis , pp. 431 - 434
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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