ANIMATE EARTH – Science, Intuition & GAIA – Stephen Harding, Chelsea Green, 06, Long bk rev – micheal sunanda

This is “Holistic science” or deep ecology about evolution of life on earth explains many natural patterns combining earth science of Gaia with microcosmos & climate crisis trends of eco-physiology of weather & biology cycles. This is leading edge exposing Gaia patterns based mostly on UK & Euro ecologists with alternative views, stemming form E.F. Schumacher “Small Is Beautiful”, from ‘70 global ecology movements. He guides readers into gentle nature based meditations to feel natural rhythms. He weaves how microbes evolved into cells the origin of life in microcosmos.

He assumes earth is alive, expands & details Gaia theory of how earth has all cooperating elements in cycles of life & microcosmos - the invisible dimensions. This helps ground us science heads of current global climate crisis speculations into practical, if not visible systems, if we can trust his deep analysis of earth energy cycles. He has a feminine awareness with vast span of natural harmonies. I like his chapter on ‘Life, Clouds & Gaia’, after his extremely detailed paths of Carbon, Oxygen & phosphorus. thru our biosphere.

I am disappointed in overly evolutionary science modeling that agrees with computer climate science model predictions, IPCC reports & knowing ever more about ever smaller life systems ignoring natural whole energy systemd How do these relate to natures fertility, food growing cycles, & water purity, human health & ever war damages??

Stephen explains immense complexity of (microcosmos of climate- cycles) in biochemical details of how the sealife produces sulfur circulates into sky seeding low-cloud cover that cools the earth by reflecting sunlight to outer space. James Lovelock (Dr Gaia) discovered the sulfur cloud- cycle in 1970s. The microbes, coral & algae make DMS form of sulfur releasing that helps clouds form, also making rain in most warm land areas – tropics & temperates. Many forests also produce sulfur that seeds cloud making, i saw for 10 years in Hawaii the clouds grew as they blew in-land from oceans daily.

He tells tragic complexity of how Amazon is drying up with global warming & deforesting, making more carbon gases (& less sulfur) slowly or fast turning to a dry savannah like in Africa, I’ve heard that elsewhere. Deforestation is still rapid in Indonesia, Canada, US, Asia, & Africa. Europe less logging. But they’ve deforested centuries ago, now regrowing 2^nd/3^rd growth forests. Our climates are very dependant on forest to make oxygen & keep our weather cycles cool.

However with the seas now heating up & acidifying form many toxic sources: human pollution, acid rain, forest-fires blowing seaward, volcanic gases & melting frozen sea -bottom clathrates sediments emitting methane oceans pH is going acid in those areas. If those acids kill the algae & coral that make sulfur, needed for cloud forming, lacking will heat up oceans ever more. Similar feedback loop to icecaps melting & waters absorbing more sunshine into dark cold waters of arctic seas melting faster, expanding thermal mass & rising on shores. In last decade that’s eroded many miles of arctic shores & heating up melting the frozen arctic land permafrost shocking their food chain life cycles on land & ice dependant seals & polar bears.

Another amazing bio-coupling between the mossy peat bogs & ocean making rain to feed them minerals they need, also sending iron minerals in run-off waters to seas algae needing iron making more sulfur forming rain clouds = bio-synergy cycles. However the gigantic rotting mossy peat bogs & permafrost are melting fast in Canada, Alaska & Siberia changing & killing many trees from mushy root rot, releasing massive carbonic greenhouse gas. He further speculates on coming ice ages co-created by peat bogs & other cycles.

There’s another arctic biome feedback loop between wolves, caribou & climate cycles in their bioregions. How’d the Sahara dry up from lush semitropical forests is explained with Gaia feedback loops of: soil albedo, evapo-transpiration, clouds, rain & summer monsoons. Chap 7 is even more complex “ From Microbes to Cell Giants” is essense of ‘microcosmos’ invisible lfe cycles everywhere dancing with seas, plants, animals & climate cycles. The 3main gases feeding & produced by biomes & microbes are” oxygen, carbonic & phosphorus, plus others. Their interactions with biome cycles seem infinite: ocean & fresh water, sediments, clouds, wind, forests, sunshine, weathering, rotting, burial, etc, etc. The massive invisible creation & absorption of those elements we’re just beginning to learn how they co-create weather & climate

Cycles.

In Chap 8 Desperate Earth – 100s of patterns in dozens of dimensions of global climate change are reported in detail. Like the melting of arctic ice cap. I wonder if its melting fresh water into open seas will acidify it diluting the salty alkaline waters? How will that effect the solar heating up oceans, evaporation rates & fertility cycles of sealife? Of course it puts more cold/fresh waters in to arctic currents maybe chilling them some while heating up in summer hot spells? The icecap melting patterns are effected by the sea currents, shore- lands & the rivers running into seas. The secret sources is volcanoes on sea bottom erupting hot acid gases & lava.

All These effect the bioms of sealife cycles from microbes up the food chain, like pollution effecting life in warmer zones. Whenever waters get too acidic it causes dying &or rapid blooming of some algae, then dying & off-gassing &or feeding or killing sea creatures, corals & shellfish, etc; even reversing large fishing cycles, like the El Nino does in south seas. The cold blooded fish thriving around 35-45o F will suffer or die in temps hi above that, or they leave to find colder more abundant & balancing aqua-zones.