
Contents
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10.1. Reaching a Verdict on Gaia 10.1. Reaching a Verdict on Gaia
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10.1.1. What Makes for a Successful Hypothesis? 10.1.1. What Makes for a Successful Hypothesis?
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10.1.2. The Road Traveled … 10.1.2. The Road Traveled …
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10.1.3. Weaving the Strands Together 10.1.3. Weaving the Strands Together
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10.1.3. Comparing the Three Hypotheses 10.1.3. Comparing the Three Hypotheses
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10.1.4. Kirchner’s Gaia Variants 10.1.4. Kirchner’s Gaia Variants
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10.1.5. Concluding Comments on Gaia 10.1.5. Concluding Comments on Gaia
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10.1.6. Where Next? 10.1.6. Where Next?
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10.2. Why It Matters Whether the Gaia Hypothesis Is Correct or Not 10.2. Why It Matters Whether the Gaia Hypothesis Is Correct or Not
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10.2.1. Planetary Management Requires Solid Understanding 10.2.1. Planetary Management Requires Solid Understanding
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10.2.2. Planetary Scientists and Plane Mechanics 10.2.2. Planetary Scientists and Plane Mechanics
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10.2.3. Gaia Imbues Undue Optimism 10.2.3. Gaia Imbues Undue Optimism
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10.2.4. The Need for an Unbiased Worldview 10.2.4. The Need for an Unbiased Worldview
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10.2.5. CFCs and the Ozone Hole 10.2.5. CFCs and the Ozone Hole
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10.2.6. More Russian Roulette Anyone? 10.2.6. More Russian Roulette Anyone?
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Cite
Abstract
This concluding chapter evaluates the Gaia hypothesis. Based on the evidence studied in this book, the chapter argues that the Gaia hypothesis is not a reasonable picture of how Earth and life interact with each other. There is no single body of facts or line of unimpeachable reasoning that sways the debate conclusively in favor of Gaia. The lack of any established bottom-up mechanism that can explain how Gaia is produced also weighs against it. No one has been able to explain convincingly how Gaia could emerge out of evolutionary or ecological dynamics. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that major evolutionary advances, such as the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis, or the first foresting of the land by sizeable trees, have been associated with environmental catastrophes.
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