GAIA NOUN (ENVIRONMENT)

The Earth viewed as a vast self-regulating organism, in which the whole range of living matter defines the conditions for its own survival, modifying the physical environment to suit its needs. Used especially in Gaia hypothesis or Gaia theory, the theory that this is how the global ecosystem functions. Etymology: Named after Gaia, the Earth goddess in Greek mythology (the daughter of Chaos). History and Usage: The term was coined by the British scientist James Lovelock, who first put forward the hypothesis at a scientific meeting about the origins of life on Earth in 1969; the suggestion that it should be named after the goddess Gaia had come from William Golding. Although not especially well received by the scientific community, the theory reached a wider audience in the eighties and early nineties and proved very attractive both to environmentalists and to the New Age movement, with its emphasis on holistic concepts and an Earth Mother. Gaia is used as a proper name for the hypothetical organism itself, and also as a shorthand way of referring to the Gaia hypothesis. Gaian (as an adjective and noun) and Gaiaist (as an adjective) have been derived from it. 'The Biosphere Catalogue' expresses a kind of spirituality in science, a metaphysical belief in the biosphere as an entity which has been dubbed 'Gaia', as if to acknowledge its divine qualities. Los Angeles Times 15 Dec. 1985, p. 12 Gaians (to use an abbreviation popular at the meeting) argue that this state of affairs is indeed evidence of the interconnectedness of life on Earth, and that it would be foolish to expect to find a series of isolated and independent mechanisms. Nature 7 Apr. 1988, p. 483 Will tomorrow bring hordes of militant Gaiaist activists enforcing some pseudoscientific idiocy on the community? New Scientist 7 Apr. 1988, p. 60 It is at the core of the current debate over the 'Gaia hypothesis', which holds that the planet is one huge organism in which everything interacts to sustain and maintain life on Earth. Christian Science Monitor 30 Jan. 1990, p. 12 Understanding Gaia means understanding that the survival of the plants, trees and wildlife which live on this planet with us is crucial to our own survival. Debbie Silver & Bernadette Vallely The Young Person's Guide to Saving the Planet (1990), p. 52