The Molecular Biology of Gaia

The Molecular Biology of Gaia. George Ronald Williams. 2nd Ed. 1996. Columbia University Press, New York, NY. 210 pages. Hardcover, ISBN 0231 105126. This book explores James Lovelock’s thoughts regarding the treatment of Earth’s ecology as the “physiology of a living organism, a highly integrated entity capable of controlling its own composition and its own environment.” The Gaia hypothesis has had a profound influence among environmentalists. Integrates the Gaia hypothesis with mainstream biology through its explanations of the hypothesis in relation to molecular biology. Some of the chapter topics include, The Question ofHabitability, Dimensions of the Anthropogenic Perturbation, The Life Boundary and Environmental Homeostasis, Global Metabolism, Geophysiology, Gaian Metaphors, and others. Nicely done.

Copyright Northeastern Naturalist 2003