The Gaia principle, also known as the Gaia hypothesis, proposes that the Earth functions as a single self-regulating system—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. [1] The hypothesis was formulated by the chemist James Lovelock and co-developed by the microbiologist @Lynn Margulis in the 1970s. Lovelock named the idea after Gaia, the primordial goddess who personified the Earth in Greek mythology. In 2006, the Geological Society of London awarded Lovelock the Wollaston Medal in part for his work on the Gaia hypothesis. [1]

Contexts

• [1] Gaia hypothesis, wikipedia.org
• #lynn_margulis