Crescent Shadows On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan Network, Inc.

Gaea is the Greek name for Mother Earth. Gaia is the name chosen by James Lovelock, a British scientist, in the late 1970's for his hypothesis about the interconnectedness of ecological systems on Earth. Essentially, the Gaia hypothesis (although some have elevated it to the Gaia theory) posits that the Earth is a living organism, which is capable of regulating its various ecosystems to maintain a dynamic equilibrium in whch we can all survive.

An ecosystem is a collection of organisms and the environment in which they live. For example, a forest ecosystem includes trees, herbaceous plants, mammals, birds, amphibians, insects, worms, fungi and soil bacteria, among others, in addition to the soil and the prevailing weather conditions. This means that a forest in at low altitude, with moisture laden winds, at a warm latitude, will be very different from a forest at a hight elevation, with dry winds, closer to the Arctic. In the first case, we might have a rain forest with tall trees with all sorts of animal life; in the second, a pine tundra with plants growing closer to the ground will have only animals especially adapted to living in cold conditions, so we won't find many frogs and salamanders, as they cannot regulate their body temperatures.

Ecosystems are not static: they change, they vary, usually within a definable range. This variation is dynamic equilibrium. If there is too little rain fall for a few years, the species that require moisture will die off, and those more tolerant of dry conditions will flourish. When the rainfall increases after a few years, the moisture loving species will again increase. Some ecosystems require this sort of catastrophe in their life cycles. Many species, including those in the Albany Pine Bush, have become so used to the occational fire that some species cannot propagate with fire to break the seed casings. Without the occasional fire, other species begin to take over. In the Pine Bush, the scrup oaks and pitch pines can tolerate the fires; the locust cannot. When we prevent forest fires, the locusts take over. By intervening with a managed burn, we can reduce the risk to property, but still maintain the fire tolerant ecosystem.

Another example of a dynamic equilibrium is the relationship between the size of animal populations and their food supplies. Animal populations are always limited by the size of the food supply during stressful periods. This winter, when it has been warm with little snow cover, more herbivores (animals that eat plants) will survive to produce young during the growing season. A larger population requires more food. If heavy snow accumulates next winter and lingers on the ground most of the season, food will be more difficult to find, and fewer individuals will survive.

Predator populations also vary with the size of the prey population. So if the mild winter causes more herbivores to survive, more carnivores will be able to survive as well. Occasionally, prey populations will suddenly explode - the number of individuals will dramatically increase. As a result, the number of predators the population can support will be increased. And just as unexpectedly, the prey populations will crash, due to disaster or food supply, or some other cosmic disturbance. Consequently, the predator population will crash as well. Dynamic equilibrium in action.

El Nino is also an example of dynamic equilibrium. Warm ocean temperatures in the middle of the Pacific Ocean alter the currents and the winds they create. As a result, flooding occurs along the eastern rim of the Pacific, and drought happens along the western portion. The causes of this are much more difficult to determine, and are fascinating to read. When the mid ocean temperatures warm on cool in the "normal" pattern, more typical weather occurs.

It may be the one of the Laws of Thermodynamics which states tht for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So humans can affect these naturally occuring equilibria. As an example, there is a species of goldenrod that is very salt tolerant. Consequently, it is found in briny estuaries along the ocean shore. Populations of this plant have been found well inland over the last decades because the seeds are wind dispersed, and they are finding nice salty habitats along the roads that are salted every winter.

Such effects are why so many of our industrial processes are regulated. The discharge of noxious waste products is regulated to prevent poisoning the ecosystem around the plant. Similarly, the discharge of cooling waters is also regulated so the local ecosystem will not be unduly harmed by the heat.

So we must be careful to minimize our weight in this natural balance. It is our responsibility to ensure that if nature cannot counterbalance our effects, we should take care that we can through our technology or our design of the process. Because Gaia may not be able to overcome all that we are capable of creating.

- Susan Grace Moore

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Last Updated: September 24, 2002
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