Title: Homage to Gaia : the life of an independent scientist /
Authors: Lovelock, James, 1919-
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 2001
Subjects: Lovelock, James,; Scientists Great Britain Biography; Gaia hypothesis
Abstract: "Lovelock, a most unusual scientist, tells us of his childhood and an apprenticeship that led him directly to a life of science. After twenty years of medical research, he chose to work independently at home. This strange way of life succeeded beyond his dreams and it was his invention of the Electron Capture Detector, the most sensitive chemical detector of its time, that told us pesticides and other harmful chemicals were everywhere and that we were polluting on a global scale. His discovery that CFCs were accumulating in the Earth's atmosphere led to the realization that the ozone layer was in danger. Most important of all was his persistent quest for Gaia, a revolutionary idea that has changed forever the way we see the Earth."--Jacket.
Contents: 1. Childhood -- 2. The Long Apprenticeship -- 3. Twenty Years of Medical Research. The Voyage on HMS Vengeance in 1949 -- 4. The Mill Hill Institute. The Year in Boston. My Last Years at the Mill Hill Institute -- 5. The First Steps to Independence at Houston, Texas -- 6. The Independent Practice of Science. Shell. The Security Services. Hewlett Packard. Inventions -- 7. The ECD -- 8. The Ozone War. The Voyage of the Shackleton in 1971-2. The Voyage of the Meteor in 1973 -- 9. The Quest for Gia -- 10. The Practical Side of Independent Science. Computers. The Royal Society. The Marine Biological Association. Living in Ireland. Coombe Mill -- 11. Building Your Own Bypass. 12. The Score Years and Ten and then the Fun Begins. 13. Epilogue.