Gaia

Imagine that we were sitting right now on the surface of the planet Venus. Actually, we wouldn’t be sitting there for more than a moment, because the temperature there is about 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The thick atmosphere is about 96% carbon dioxide, with most of the rest being nitrogen. Sulfuric acid clouds would swirl thirty miles above us, and we would be baking in an intense, suffocating oven.

If we went the other direction in our solar system to Mars, we would find a much thinner and colder atmosphere, ranging from tolerably chilly at the warmest down to more than 200 degrees below zero. The atmosphere there would similarly be about 95% carbon dioxide and 3% nitrogen, with modest amounts of other gases.

Once upon a time, the atmosphere of the Earth had large amounts of carbon dioxide, too, but today our atmosphere is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with smaller amounts of argon, water vapor, a few other gases, and less than one twenty-fifth of a percent of carbon dioxide. Why so different from our neighboring planets?

The answer, of course, is life. It was life that took most of the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, produced oxygen, and learned to fix nitrogen. The chemical composition of our atmosphere has changed and evolved along with the evolution of life, and it can only be sustained as it is because of the cycles of life on this planet.

Back in the 1970s, James Lovelock noticed this phenomenon, and he realized that in an important sense, we are not merely living creatures on a non-living planet, but the Earth itself could be described as alive. Not necessarily conscious or purposeful, but alive in the sense of being self-regulating, just as our bodies self-regulate our temperature or blood sugar levels. The Earth’s temperature, atmospheric composition, and ocean salinity, for example, are much more stable than they ought to be without some self-regulating force.

At the suggestion of novelist William Golding, Lovelock named his idea after a Greek Earth goddess, Gaia (sometimes pronounced gay-a or even jee-a, but I have more often heard it pronounced guy-a). Some scientists were alarmed that this was a fanciful anthropomorphic view of the Earth, but over time it has become clear that life must be understood at a planetary level as well as at the level of species and individuals. At a scientific level, it has come to be known as Earth Systems Science or Geophysiology.

Is it fair to say that the Earth or Gaia is alive? The Earth takes in or "eats" radiation from the sun, "digesting" it and radiating heat. The Earth is full of self-regulating mechanisms, involving both living creatures and the chemistry of inorganic matter. The annual and atmospheric cycles of the Earth are like her breath. She has not reproduced, but who is to say that she might not some day, if intelligent life persists long enough and we spread life to other planets? Even if she is not conscious or purposeful, human awareness is like Gaia waking up and learning about herself. Regardless of how we define life, there is no doubt the Earth is different from other planets we know. It is not too much of a stretch to say she is alive.

According to Greek mythology, the goddess Gaia was born from Chaos, along with Eros, and she gave birth to the Sea and the Sky, as well as many other gods and monsters. She is the goddess who saved Zeus from being swallowed by his father Cronus. At one time she was widely worshipped in Greece, but later was eclipsed by the worship of other gods.  Unfortunately, perhaps.

What I find most fascinating in this mythology is the origin of Gaia from Chaos, since there is a new way in which scientists today consider life and the living earth to have come from chaos. The science and mathematics of chaos and complexity are relatively new, but they have dramatically changed how we look at the universe.

I don’t want to get too technical here, but I believe this branch of science and mathematics is both beautiful and profound, and we should know about it.  Chaos or complexity theory deals with non-linear systems, open systems (like the Earth) with inflows and outflows of energy and with feedback loops that can cause counter-intuitive or unpredictable results. This is the field of fractals and self-similarity, of strange attractors and emergent properties at the boundary between order and disorder. Some of the characteristics of these systems include broad patterns that remain relatively constant within certain parameters, even though they constantly fluctuate and are far away from a fixed equilibrium. Our atmosphere is like this. It contains reactive chemicals such as methane and oxygen that nevertheless are constantly replenished, resulting in a remarkably stable atmosphere even though chemically it is unstable.

Another characteristic of these complex, non-linear systems is sensitivity to small changes within those broad, relatively stable patterns, making prediction difficult. This is sometimes called the "butterfly effect" because even the effect of a butterfly’s wings flapping is magnified over time in a way that can affect weather around the globe. But billions of other small events are magnified, too, and the result is that even though general weather patterns may be predictable from year to year, specific weather forecasts can never be made more than a few days out. It’s the nature of the science, not because weather forecasters are unreliable people, so I’ll give them a break even if I’d like the weather forecast to be more dependable. Remember that twelve-inch snow just a week ago?

Another characteristic of non-linear systems is that right on that border between order and disorder, amazing things can happen. Complex patterns can emerge, seemingly from nowhere, with new properties that cannot be understood by reducing them to their lower-level components. These new properties are like the relationship between letters and words printed on a page. Take away all the letters, and there are no words, but words are far more than just letters, and they cannot be understood just as an arrangement of letters. Of course, in that example, letters don’t arrange themselves into words.  But at the edge of chaos, emergent properties are self-organizing, appearing spontaneously and often suddenly. This is the history of the evolution of life and the evolution of the Earth itself. It is an amazing story that we are understandingin greater depth with every generation and every new discovery, and there is still much more for us to learn.

Another way to look at the living Earth is through the metaphor of the web of life, for which we proclaim our respect in our Unitarian Universalist principles. The many animal and plant species and the environments they inhabit have complex connections. Sometimes, big shocks to these systems can have minimal long-term effect, because complex systems can be very resilient within certain boundaries. But other times, even small changes can begin a cascade of expanding effects, illustrating the interconnectedness of the web.

In England, for example, a virus was introduced a few decades ago to control rabbits, which led to less grazing by the rabbits and taller grasses. This caused a decline in a species of ant that required shorter grasses. A particular type of caterpillar depended for its development upon these ants, and as a result, that species of blue butterfly went extinct in England. Fortunately in this case, the blue butterfly has been reintroduced from Sweden, although its existence is still fragile. This complex web of relationships illustrates that it is not only species that evolve. It is also the relationships among them and whole ecosystems that evolve.

This leads us to one of the other characteristics of complex, non-linear systems. They can be remarkably stable within certain limits, but they tend to have thresholds or tipping points where things can change rapidly. If basic parameters change beyond a certain point, the whole system can be moved into a different state where everything changes. It is hard to predict where those thresholds and points of dramatic change may be until they are reached.

With regard to the temperature of the Earth and our atmosphere, for example, there are both positive and negative feedback loops. A negative feedback loop dampens change. For example, as the Earth warms, more clouds are formed, which reflect sunlight and reduce temperatures. Positive feedback loops accelerate change. For example, as the Earth warms, ice melts, exposing land which absorbs more sunlight, further accelerating the warming of the Earth. There are many other examples. It can be difficult to tell which effects will predominate, but there is a point beyond which positive feedback loops can lead to runaway change. The surface of Venus appears to be the result of a runaway greenhouse effect. Of course, Venus didn’t have the vast oceans or the dynamics of life to slow the process down, and we are probably not in danger of climate change that dramatic. But there is no guarantee the Earth could not be pushed into a very different place, perhaps one that is hostile to human life or even to life as a whole.

If the Earth or Gaia is alive, then she can also die. We know she will die some day, but it shouldn’t be for billions of years. Who knows what new properties could emerge from life on Earth during that time? What greater meaning can we have for our lives than to keep the path of love and learning and the story of life going as long as possible? What will it take for us to do that?

Part of the problem is that in dynamic, complex systems, it is hard to know what consequences our actions will have. In the case of global warming, the total picture is certainly more complex than a simple relationship between carbon emissions and temperature. There are other greenhouse gases that play a role, for example, such as methane and water vapor. We know there are climate cycles such as periodic ice ages and thaws that clearly have not been the result of burning fossil fuels. We’re actually somewhat overdue for the next ice age. But the best climate models we have developed so far seem to indicate that the recent rise in both carbon dioxide and global temperature is a deviation from those cycles, therefore likely due to human activity. Thanks to the processes of life, from soil bacteria to sea creatures, much of the carbon that was once in the atmosphere is now locked away in the earth, mostly in carbonates such as limestone, but some in hydrocarbons such as oil and coal. As we rapidly release these carbons back into the atmosphere, we may be altering some of the cycles of nature, warming the earth with known and unknown consequences.

It is possible that we are wrong about some of the dynamics of global warming or the specific consequences of carbon emissions, but I’m not sure I want to conduct the experiment any further to find out. We won’t get another try. Like the old margarine commercial–"It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature" (isn’t it funny how those things stick in our minds?)–it’s not smart to fool with Gaia. We may not know we have crossed a threshold until it is too late. And especially in the case of oil, we know our present way of life cannot last for long, regardless.  In addition to the environmental reasons, there are good economic and national security reasons for conserving energy and developing renewable alternatives.  We would be wise to cut carbon emissions significantly, and this Earth Day there is more momentum for this change than ever before, with rallies around the country calling for an 80% cut in carbon emissions by 2050.

The even bigger picture is that the explosion of human life on Earth is affecting the whole planet in many ways, and our present pattern of life cannot be sustained much longer. It is disturbing to realize that we could have an effect on the very atmosphere of the Earth that we breathe. Rapid population growth, depletion of resources, accumulation of nuclear and toxic waste, and human problems such as poverty and war all harm the environment of the earth. And by the way, in spite of Lovelock’s support for it now, I’d be cautious about embracing nuclear power as a solution to global warming, because of its own potential unintended consequences.

There are other environmental issues we need to remember as well.  The resilience of Gaia depends on biodiversity, but we are overfishing the oceans, destroying habitats from rainforests to coral reefs, and causing the extinction of many plants and animals. This destruction not only impoverishes the beauty and richness of Gaia, but it may eventually lead to a cascade of changes that could threaten our own lives. It can be hard to distinguish natural fluctuations from dangerous trends, but the recent rapid decline of bees is a worrisome indicator of what could go wrong, or may already be going wrong.

If Gaia is to reach her greatest possible fulfillment, and if we want to be a part of it, we need to understand her better and adapt ourselves to her needs. This means constant learning and embracing the best scientific research wherever it leads us, even as it changes, not letting politics or religion blind us from seeing what we should do about everything from food and water to energy, climate change or even asteroids. We will need to recognize our shared human interest in the health of Gaia above our national, ethnic or religious differences. Those who doubt a supernatural God will need to join with those who see the Earth as God’s creation to work together for our planet’s environment, and both will need to counter theologies that devalue the Earth. One of the more difficult challenges is that we will need economic systems that do not depend upon constant growth and resource exploitation, and that do not only strive for cost efficiency or short-term maximization of profit, but also robustness or resiliency, equitability, and long-term sustainability. Over time we will face some changes in the Earth and its climate no matter what we do, and we will need to be flexible enough to adapt, even as we try not to make things worse.

We will also need to change the way we think about our living planet. We are not the masters of the Earth, and we are not separate from nature. The Earth is our home, and the plants and other animals are our family. Gaia has given birth to us after billions of years of evolutionary gestation. We are a part of her. Will we be worthy of Gaia, or will we go the way of many other species before us? Or worse yet, will we kill our own Mother? The Earth so easily could be chemically stable and dead like the oven of Venus or the frigid rock of Mars. Instead, we live in a beautiful world of willow trees and raspberry bushes, zebras and butterflies, plankton and squid. Let yourself see and feel the wonder of it all. Here at JUC, we reside at the base of a cathedral of nature. There is nothing like time in the mountains or another natural environment to center our spirits and remind us of who we are and what is important.

I am proud that JUC’s WomenSpirit and CUUPS groups are keeping us in touch with the cycles of nature, celebrating Gaia and honoring pagan religious roots that respect our connection with other creatures and the living Earth.  I am proud of how many of us have engaged in service projects this weekend, illustrating how much we care and how much we are capable of doing if we commit ourselves to it.  I am proud that we will soon be putting solar panels on our roof, that we are examining how we eat and how we use energy, striving to live up to our status as a Green Sanctuary in our building, our advocacy and our practices.

Is it enough? On environmental matters, none of us is perfect, but that is not the point in any case. The effect of any one of us is small, but especially if we lead the way for others, who knows if we just may keep the Earth on the right side of a crucial tipping point? The sight of our planetary blue boat home from space is breathtaking. Gaia holds within her unimaginable amounts of creativity, joy, tragedy, and potential. On this Earth Sunday, may we honor and celebrate Gaia, the web of life, and our place within it, dedicating ourselves to a more sustainable future for ourselves and all other forms of life.

Long live Gaia!

May it be so.