Lovelock at the RSA

James Lovelock, the originator of Gaia theory, visited the RSA today to chat with Tim Radford (ex science editor at the Guardian) about his latest book The Vanishing Face of Gaia.

James Lovelock, the originator of Gaia theory, visited the RSA today to chat with Tim Radford (ex science editor at the Guardian) about his latest book The Vanishing Face of Gaia.

Lovelock is a well known advocate of radical solutions to climate change, arguing that the time for making small differences has long passed. Two years ago he suggested massive pipes (with a one-way valve at the bottom) that float vertically in the oceans and draw up cold water from the depths, increasing the rate at which algae on the surface reacts with the CO2 in the atmosphere. In his latest book, and today at the RSA, he advised burying massive amounts of charcoal (the sort of quantities required could be achieved if every farmer's agricultural waste - hay and so forth) which would sequester the CO2 in a fairly secure state.

What would James Lovelock say about trying to change our behaviour in response to climate change? I didn't ask the question (although someone asked something similar), but I think it's clear from his past record he would think this was all a bit too late. Here's an excerpt from an interview the Guardian conducted with him last year:

Do he and his wife try to limit the number of flights they take? "No we don't. Because we can't." And recycling, he adds, is "almost certainly a waste of time and energy", while having a "green lifestyle" amounts to little more than "ostentatious grand gestures". He distrusts the notion of ethical consumption. "Because always, in the end, it turns out to be a scam ... or if it wasn't one in the beginning, it becomes one." [link]

I admire James Lovelock for many things, but I think he'd consider design for behaviour change is a bit of a deck-chair reordering activity.