Most recent 10 pages
Conjectures of an independent scientist - a talk at the Geological Society of London, on 5 May 2011.
Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change - in his first in-depth interview since the theft of UEA emails, James Lovelock blames inertia and democracy for lack of action. By Leo Hickman, published in The Guardian, Monday 29 March 2010. Note link to full interview transcript. "I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a situation as climate change. The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful ... "
Enjoy life while you can - Decca Aitkenhead interviews JL for The Guardian, Saturday 1 March 2008. "Climate science maverick James Lovelock believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam. So what would he do? ..."
Climate Change on a Living Earth - public lecture given at the Royal Society, 29 October 2007.
Ocean pipes could help the Earth to cure itself - letter to Nature from James Lovelock and Chris Rapley, 26 September 2007. "We propose a way to stimulate the Earth's capacity to cure itself, as an emergency treatment for the pathology of global warming ... The oceans, which cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface, are a promising place to seek a regulating influence. One approach would be to use free-floating or tethered vertical pipes to increase the mixing of nutrient-rich waters below the thermocline with the relatively barren waters at the ocean surface ...Such an approach may fail, perhaps on engineering or economic grounds. And the impact on ocean acidification will need to be taken into account ... But the stakes are so high that we put forward the general concept of using the Earth system's own energy for amelioration. The removal of 500 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide from the air by human endeavour is beyond our current technological capability. If we can't 'heal the planet' directly, we may be able to help the planet heal itself."
Mixing the oceans proposed to reduce global warming - news story in Nature by Quirin Schiermeier, 26 September 2007. "Could mighty pumps be installed in the ocean to mix up the waters and cool the planet? In a letter to the editor published in Nature this week, James Lovelock and Chris Rapley suggest that this deus ex machina could be an "emergency treatment for the pathology of global warming". Large vertical pipes could, they say, be used to mix nutrient-rich waters from hundreds of metres down with the more barren waters at the surface. This could cause algal blooms at the surface, which would consume carbon dioxide (CO2) through photosynthesis. When the algae die, some of this carbon could sink into deep waters. The algae may also produce chemicals that spur cloud formation, further cooling the planet."
Lovelock urges ocean climate fix - article on BBC website by Richard Black, Environment Correspondent. "Two of Britain's leading environmental thinkers say it is time to develop a quick technical fix for climate change. Writing in the journal Nature, Science Museum head Chris Rapley and Gaia theorist James Lovelock suggest looking at boosting ocean take-up of CO2. Their idea, already being investigated by a US firm, involves huge flotillas of vertical pipes in the tropical seas." 26 September 2007.
Gaia's Warrior - Robin McKie, science editor of the UK's Observer newspaper, interviews James Lovelock for Australia's G: the Green Lifestyle Magazine, July / August 2007 issue. "In the 1960s James Lovelock was an eco-pioneer; today he's a firm advocate of nuclear power. Meet the independent thinker who is never far from the intellectual fray ... " Article available as pdf (500KB).
Interview: James Lovelock on Climate Change - FirstScience talked to James Lovelock, a famous British environmentalist, scientist and author, about his views on climate change. By Christine Carter, 2 February 2007. "The climate change we're seeing now is closely similar to a geological event that occurred 55 million years ago, at the beginning of the period geologists refer to as the Eocene. We're not quite certain how, but about two million million tons of carbon dioxide came into the Earth's atmosphere over a period of about 10,000 years. I think the most likely cause was a volcanic sill: lava underground from a volcano coming up beneath a petroleum deposit in what is now the Norwegian Sea. This vaporised practically the whole deposit and put a huge quantity of carbon into our atmosphere ... "
The Ecologist podcasts recorded at the Science Media Centre, 28 November 2006, as 13 .mp3 files each several minutes long. "James Lovelock, the world famous scientist and environmentalist behind 'Gaia' theory (the view of the earth as an entirely interlinked system), speaks to journalists about 'global heating', nuclear power, and why Siberian real-estate might be a good option."





