Lovelock argues that such things as the level of oxygen, the formation of clouds, and the saltiness of the oceans may all be controlled by biological processes. He believes that "living organisms create the optimum conditions for their own existence, and in so doing create the superorganism Gaia."The New York Times Book Review has called his arguments in favor of Gaia "plausible and above all illuminating."

They came from around the world: from parliaments, senates, and assemblies; from temples, churches, and mosques; from laboratories, universities, and boardrooms. It was the first time that spiritual and parliamentary leaders had come together with scientific experts to confront the threats of environmental crisis, nuclear war, famine, and disease. After five days of dialogue and contemplation the participants pledged to join forces to care for and protect the Earth with all its interdependent forms of life. This unprecedented meeting--the Global Survival Conference held at Oxford in April...

The global temperature is rising, the ice caps are melting, and levels of pollution across the world have reached unprecedented heights. According to eminent scientist James Lovelock, in order to survive an assault from her dependents, the Earth is lurching ever closer to a permanent "hot state." Within the next century, we will almost certainly be forced to give up many of the comforts of western living as supplies are threatened. Only the fittest--and the smartest--will survive.

A reluctant jeremiad from one of the environmental movement's elder statesmen, The Vanishing Face of...