This week saw the sad news of the loss of visionary scientist and environmentalist James Lovelock. ⁠ “The maverick British ecologist whose work was essential to today’s understanding of man-made pollutants and their effect on climate and who captured the scientific world’s imagination with his Gaia theory, portraying the Earth as a living creature.” (@nytimes) ⁠ ⁠ The #GAIATheory is defined as “the global ecosystem, understood to function in the manner of a vast self-regulating organism, in the context of which all living things collectively define and maintain the conditions conducive for life on earth”. (Oxford English Dictionary) ⁠ ⁠ The timing of Lovelock’s passing is especially poignant as it came the day before Earth Overshoot Day. A date which sees humanity having used all of the resources the planet is able to regenerate in a year. ⁠ ⁠ The movement of the Gaia theory into mainstream thought was helped by the work of leading American microbiologist Lynn Margulis. Who became a collaborator of Dr Lovelock’s on specific research to support the theory. ⁠ ⁠ It was Lovelock’s work measuring the spread of toxic man-made compounds in the environment that inspired the biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson's seminal book 'Silent Spring'. ⁠ ⁠ And his findings that chlorofluorocarbons “were present in measurable concentrations in the atmosphere led to the discovery of the hole in the ozone layer. (Chlorofluorocarbons are now banned in most countries under a 1987 international agreement.)” (NY Times) ⁠ ⁠ To read more about Dr Lovelock’s important contributions to science follow the link in our bio. ⁠ ⁠ ... ⁠ #BIOFAB #GAIA ⁠ ... ⁠ ⁠ #DesignMeetsBiology #biofabricate #Climate #climatechange #JamesLovelock #SilentSpring #RachelCarson #LynnMargulis #conservation #ClimateScience #earthovershootday