To the editors:
I am sorry to see that Cecil Adams missed the point with his outburst on the Gaia hypotheses [Straight Dope, April 21]. In it he talks about the theories’ claim that the earth is a living organism which self regulates and possibly self heals. Cecil concluded by stating that even Gaian proponent J.E. Lovelock “doesn’t claim that the earth is automatically going to compensate for environmental insults inflicted by man” and that we should start buying Nevada beachfront property as a result of ice cap melting due to global warming.
I vehemently disagree. Gaia will indeed self regulate and self heal in the near future if humankind doesn’t quickly stop its ecological destruction of the earth. Think about it . . . Ozone hole, Greenhouse Effect, Chernobyl, rainforest destruction, species extinction, . . . they are all signs that we need to change our devastating ways soon. If not, it is just a matter of time before Gaia eradicates the nemesis causing all these problems and destroys the human race.
Jim Slama
Chicago