Gaia Theory
Gaia Hypothesis
A theory proposing that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet.
Origin
British scientist James Lovelock first articulated the theory in journal articles in 1972 and 1974, formalized in his 1979 book Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. While working with NASA in the 1960s on methods to detect life on Mars, Lovelock noticed that Earth's atmospheric chemistry — maintained far from chemical equilibrium — could only be explained by living organisms actively regulating it. Microbiologist Lynn Margulis joined as co-developer from 1971. The name was suggested by Lovelock's neighbor, Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Golding, after the Greek goddess of Earth.