Clues
"I
had thought that deforestation was one problem, and climate change another,
totally separate problem. Now I can see that they are really all the same thing."
"I was wondering how something like the the Earth can
regulate itself - where's the control room? But then I compared it to smaller
ecosystems where there is obviuosly no 'brain' as such."
"What
happens if the climate changes drastically? Will there be no life on Earth die?
Is that the end?"
"Humans
regulate their body temperature by shivering or sweating. The earth regulates
it's temperature by changing the weather."
"I don't see the planet as just a lump of rock
spinning around with us just sitting on the top. You have to see the Earth
as alive. Stone, trees, water, clouds, animals and fish are all made of the
same basic system."
"Here's something to think about. Any species that wipes
out its environment will eventually wipe out itself."
"We are all in this together. Nobody
can opt out. We share responsibility. We share the consequences."
"Think of it as though we had to pay tax to look after
our environment, as we do to for clean water, rubbish collection and sewerage.
If no-one pays the tax, we end up in a filthy, polluted, diseased world."
"I
think that Gaia might have a nasty surprise for us. If we stop thinking about
just ourselves - human beings - and think about our place in the world then
things look very different. You do realise that there might be a world - but
without us! It it will all be our fault!"
"It's
a holistic view. Not just for biologists or chemists or whatever, but across
the whole range of science."
"I
realised that the atmosphere is huge, but very fragile."
"Dependence is key. Like a food web or chain we all
depend on other elements, such as water, light and heat to support us."
"We
should try to take care of the earth as much as we take care of our own bodies.
I don't mean like going to the gym 5 times a week, or being fanatical about
our diet, I mean the fundamentals of keeping ourselves alive. For example, we
sleep to rest our bodies so that we can get up the next day and start all over
again. Farmers should let their fields rest in between crops."
"Daisyworld is a bit like baking a cake isn't it?! If
the oven's too hot it burns and is inedible. If it's too cool, the cake doesn't
rise and it's inedible. If you've got all the dry ingredients but no wet ones
it's inedible."
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