Here on earth:: Tim Flannery

Just a quick note really to say that I've finnished reading Tim Flannery's 'Here on earth'. It was a real up and down book to read emotionally. I feel at time rather hopeless more so when I think of what we are leaving for future generations. The book really started to head and pick up steam in this direction. The effects of pollution, be it the amount of Carbon pumped into the air, deforestation, the declining of biodivercity due to modern farm practices....
One thing that fascinated me was the Gaia theory, I had never really heard of this before. From wikipedia

a broadly inclusive term for related concepts that living organisms on a planet will affect the nature of their environment in order to make the environment more suitable for life. This set of theories holds that all organisms on an extraterrestrial life-giving planet regulate the biosphere to the benefit of the whole. Gaia concept draws a connection between the survivability of a species (hence its evolutionary course) and its usefulness to the survival of other species.

I do think that we are all connected in some way especially with the Earth but this is the first soild thinking that I've heard relates to this. It sounds as if Flannery is a believer in this.

Yet the last couple of chapter there was beams of hope.  That population and planning is starting to take effect, that each generation is becoming more aware of humans impact on the environment. I probably wouldn't have kept reading if there wasn't. This stuff just gets me down after a while.

Good book and well worth reading.