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The Gaia Hypothesis & The Earth As A System

The Gaia Hypothesis & The Earth As A System. Global Geography 12. Mother Earth. Throughout history, the concept of Mother Earth has been a part of human culture in one form or the other The Hopi name for Mother Earth is Tapuat (meaning mother and child)

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The Gaia Hypothesis & The Earth As A System

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  1. The Gaia Hypothesis& The Earth As A System Global Geography 12

  2. Mother Earth • Throughout history, the concept of Mother Earth has been a part of human culture in one form or the other • The Hopi name for Mother Earth is Tapuat (meaning mother and child) • Symbolizes the cycle of life, the rebirth of spirit, its earthly path, and possibly its return to the possible domain.

  3. Goddess Kali • Kali is the Cosmic Power all of the good and all of the bad in the universe, combining with the absolute power of destruction with the precious motherly gift of creation. • Kali creates, preserves, destroys

  4. What is Gaia? Greek mythology – goddess of the earth mother of living things, sustainer of life

  5. Hypothesis? Thesis = main idea or argument (like in an essay or debate) Hypothesis = a theory or proposal based on scientific or logical reason

  6. Gaia Hypothesis An idea proposed by James Lovelock (published in 1979) All living things on earth (biosphere) function as oneSUPERorganism that changes its environment to create conditions that best meet its needs, with the ability to self-regulate critical systems needed to sustain life

  7. 4 Systems The four systems that sustain life are: Biosphere (living things) Hydrosphere (all water on earth’s surface) Atmosphere (air) Lithosphere (soil)

  8. Self-Regulation Surface Temperature maintenance of a consistent temperature that supports life Atmospheric Composition the composition of the air remains the same, even though it should change a lot over time Ocean Salinity the ocean never gets more/less salty, even though minerals are forever being added from rivers

  9. What is a System? System? A group of parts that function together Open vs Closed all systems require an energy source to drive them

  10. System Earth Earth=closed system. All ingredients (water, gases, and chemical nutrients) exist on Earth in limited amounts. For life on Earth to continue to function, these ingredients have to be recycled over and over again. Energy source: the sun

  11. System Earth Linear system Closed system

  12. System Warning If we use up or seriously deplete any of Earth’s essential ingredients, or if we disrupt its natural cycles, we risk upsetting the balance of the entire system.

  13. To sum up… Earth = single living organism. Over 4.6 billion years the Earth has become: self-evolving self-regulating self-sustaining Evolve: change and become more effectiveRegulate: able to monitor/control/adjust itself Sustain: to maintain current life indefinitely

  14. Furthermore… All living things act to create environmental changes that benefit all life forms The Earth is always changing and adapting in response to its life forms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjLC3GjFMv0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44yiTg7cOVI

  15. Gaia in action Planetary simulation: Daisyworld http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/flash/gaia1.htm

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