A multidisciplinary exploration of the controversial Gaia hypothesis. Forty-four contributions detail the philosophical, empirical and theoretical foundations of Gaia, mechanisms through which planetwide homeostasis could occur, applicability of the hypothesis to planets other than earth, possible destabilization by outside forces, and public policy implications. It formulates Gaia as a scientific hypothesis, and addresses changes in the theory since its conception two decade ago.

Well-respected proponents and critics of Gaia are represented in this balanced, wide-ranging collection. - Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

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Biography

Stephen H. Schneider was Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology at Stanford University. He was also Coordinating Lead Author of the IPCC's working group on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, from 1997 to 2001, and, with his IPCC colleagues, was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in 2007. He was the author or editor of many books, including Science as a Contact Sport: Inside the Battle to Save Earth's Climate and Scientists Debate Gaia: The Next Century (MIT Press, 2004). Dr. Penelope J. Boston is Director of the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Studies.