A Rough Ride to the Future

Author: James Lovelock
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241961424
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
In A Rough Ride to the Future, James Lovelock - the great scientific visionary of our age - presents a radical vision of humanity's future as the thinking brain of our Earth-system James Lovelock, who has been hailed as 'the man who conceived the first wholly new way of looking at life on earth since Charles Darwin' (Independent) and 'the most profound scientific thinker of our time' (Literary Review) continues, in his 95th year, to be the great scientific visionary of our age. This book introduces two new Lovelockian ideas. The first is that three hundred years ago, when Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine, he was unknowingly beginning what Lovelock calls 'accelerated evolution', a process which is bringing about change on our planet roughly a million times faster than Darwinian evolution. The second is that as part of this process, humanity has the capacity to become the intelligent part of Gaia, the self-regulating Earth system whose discovery Lovelock first announced nearly 50 years ago. In addition, Lovelock gives his reflections on how scientific advances are made, and his own remarkable life as a lone scientist. The contribution of human beings to our planet is, Lovelock contends, similar to that of the early photosynthesisers around 3.4 billion years ago, which made the Earth's atmosphere what it was until very recently. By our domination and our invention, we are now changing the atmosphere again. There is little that can be done about this, but instead of feeling guilty about it we should recognise what is happening, prepare for change, and ensure that we survive as a species so we can contribute to - perhaps even guide - the next evolution of Gaia. The road will be rough, but if we are smart enough life will continue on Earth in some form far into the future. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, JAMES LOVELOCK is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis (now Gaia Theory). His many books on the subject include Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (1979), The Revenge of Gaia (2006), and The Vanishing Face of Gaia (2009). In 2003 he was made a Companion of Honour by Her Majesty the Queen, in 2005 Prospect magazine named him one of the world's top 100 public intellectuals, and in 2006 he received the Wollaston Medal, the highest Award of the UK Geological Society.

A Rough Ride to the Future

Author: James Lovelock
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1468311603
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
The great scientific visionary of our age presents a radical vision of humanity’s future as the thinking brain of our Earth-system. A Rough Ride to the Future introduces two new Lovelockian ideas. The first is that three hundred years ago, when Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine, he was unknowingly beginning what James Lovelock calls “accelerated evolution.” That is a process that is bringing about change on our planet roughly a million times faster than Darwinian evolution. The second idea is that as part of this process, humanity has the capacity to become the intelligent part of Gaia, the self-regulating earth system whose discovery Lovelock first announced nearly fifty years ago. A Rough Ride to theFuture is also an intellectual autobiography, in which Lovelock reflects on his life as a lone scientist and asks—eloquently—whether his career trajectory is possible in an age of increased bureaucratization. We are now changing the atmosphere again, and Lovelock argues that there is little that can be done about this. But instead of feeling guilty, we should recognize what is happening, prepare for change, and ensure that we survive as a species so we can contribute to—perhaps even guide—the next evolution of Gaia. The road will be rough, but if we are smart enough, life will continue on earth in some form far into the future. Praise for A Rought Ride to the Future “Arresting and disturbing . . . Lovelock writes wonderfully well. With the authority of age, his voice is that of an elder statesman . . . The result is mellifluous and fluent.” —Nature “Though the subject matter could scarcely be more discouraging, Lovelock’s fluent prose and vast range of knowledge make it a surprisingly easy read. . . . His writing has enormous warmth and vitality.” —Financial Times “The most important book for me this year . . . Lovelock is the most prescient of scientists. . . . He has given us a handbook for human survival.” —John Gray, The Guardian “Not simply another look at Mother Nature’s uncertain future, but a revealing glimpse at the life of an outspoken and accomplished man of ideas.” —Publishers Weekly

Homage to Gaia

Author: James Lovelock
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198604297
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 474

Book Description
One of today's most influential environmentalists tells the fascinating storyof his life as a self-made inventor and scientist.

Alphablocks R's Rough Ride

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781405278379
Category : English language
Languages : en
Pages : 24

Book Description
A fun, dynamic introduction to the early letter sounds children encounter when they begin school. E, U and R sail their way across the colourful pages of this book in suitably pirate fashion to engage young children in what may be their first reading experience. With an entertaining story for the adult to read, simple words for children to attempt and further activities at the end of the book to enforce everything that has been learnt, these books are the perfect first introduction to phonics.

Novacene

Author: James Lovelock
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262539519
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 155

Book Description
A fascinating new study from the originator of the Gaia Theory, “who conceived the first wholly new way of looking at life on earth since Charles Darwin” (Independent) One of the world’s leading scientific thinkers offers a vision of a future epoch in which humans and artificial intelligence unite to save the Earth. James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis and the greatest environmental thinker of our time, has produced an astounding new theory about future of life on Earth. He argues that the Anthropocene—the age in which humans acquired planetary-scale technologies—is, after 300 years, coming to an end. A new age—the Novacene—has already begun. In the Novacene, new beings will emerge from existing artificial intelligence systems. They will think 10,000 times faster than we do and they will regard us as we now regard plants. But this will not be the cruel, violent machine takeover of the planet imagined by science fiction. These hyperintelligent beings will be as dependent on the health of the planet as we are. They will need the planetary cooling system of Gaia to defend them from the increasing heat of the sun as much as we do. And Gaia depends on organic life. We will be partners in this project. It is crucial, Lovelock argues, that the intelligence of Earth survives and prospers. He does not think there are intelligent aliens, so we are the only beings capable of understanding the cosmos. Perhaps, he speculates, the Novacene could even be the beginning of a process that will finally lead to intelligence suffusing the entire cosmos. At the age of 100, James Lovelock has produced the most important and compelling work of his life.

Future Smart

Author: James Canton
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0306822873
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Book Description
Game-changing trends are coming in business, technology, workforce, economy, security, and environment. Climate change, energy demand, and population growth will redefine global risk and power. Exponential new technologies will emerge in digital money, mobile commerce, and big data. An explosive new middle class of over one billion consumers will enter the marketplace. Every nation, job, business, and person will be transformed. To thrive in this future you have to become predictive, adaptive, and agile—to become Future Smart. Dr. James Canton, a renowned global futurist and visionary business advisor, illuminates the pivotal forces and global power shifts that everyone must understand today to thrive in a rapidly changing landscape: Regenerative medicine will extend our lifetimes and rebuild our bodies Robots and drones will drive our cars, teach our kids, and fight our wars Smart machines will design, manage, and service 40% of all global businesses—energy, commerce, finance, and manufacturing—without humans Digital consumers who live always connected will challenge every business to change its strategy Climate change wars will redefine security and resources Most of us are not prepared to meet the challenges the future will bring, but these changes are coming fast. Armed with knowledge, those who are Future Smart can take action to reinvent themselves, their businesses, and their world.

Moods of Future Joys

Author: Alastair Humphreys
Publisher: Eye Books (US&CA)
ISBN: 1908646039
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 199

Book Description
An updated edition including new color photographs and a new afterword looking back at the journeyAlastair Humphreys' around-the-world journey of 46,000 miles was an old-fashioned adventure: long, lonely, low-budget, and spontaneous. Cycling across five continents and sailing over the oceans, his ride took four years to complete, on a tiny budget of hoarded student loans. Here is the story of the first remarkable stage of the expedition. Just two weeks into the ride the September 11th attacks changed everything. All Humphreys' plans went out the window and, instead of riding towards Australia, he suddenly found himself pedaling through the Middle East and Africa and on toward Cape Town. This book recounts an epic journey that succeeded through Humphreys' trust in the kindness of strangers, at a time where the interactions of our global community are more confused and troubled than ever.

The Revenge of Gaia

Author: James Lovelock
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465008666
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206

Book Description
In The Revenge of Gaia , bestselling author James Lovelock- father of climate studies and originator of the influential Gaia theory which views the entire earth as a living meta-organism-provides a definitive look at our imminent global crisis. In this disturbing new book, Lovelock guides us toward a hard reality: soon, we may not be able to alter the oncoming climate crisis. Lovelock's influential Gaia theory, one of the building blocks of modern climate science, conceives of the Earth, including the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere and upper layers of rock, as a single living super-organism, regulating its internal environment much as an animal regulates its body temperature and chemical balance. But now, says Lovelock, that organism is sick. It is running a fever born of the combination of a sun whose intensity is slowly growing over millions of years, and an atmosphere whose greenhouse gases have recently spiked due to human activity. Earth will adjust to these stresses, but on time scales measured in the hundreds of millennia. It is already too late, Lovelock says, to prevent the global climate from "flipping" into an entirely new equilibrium state that will leave the tropics uninhabitable, and force migration to the poles. The Revenge of Gaia explains the stress the planetary system is under and how humans are contributing to it, what the consequences will be, and what humanity must do to rescue itself.

Cowgirl Up and Ride

Author: Lorelei James
Publisher: Ridgeview Publishing
ISBN: 9781941869918
Category : Man-woman relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
For years, goody-two boots AJ Foster wished her dream man Cord McKay would see her beyond the girl in pigtails. Now that she's old enough to stake her claim on him, she challenges the cowboy to teach her how to ride-- and she doesn't mean horses."

Rough Rider

Author: Victoria Vane
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1492601179
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
Two wary hearts ... Janice Combes has two loves, bucking bulls and Dirk Knowlton. But Dirk only has eyes for a dazzling rodeo queen. How can Janice ever compete while mired ankle-deep in manure? Exchanging playful banter with Dirk is all Janice can expect-until the stormy night he knocks on her door dripping wet and needing a place to crash. Different Dreams... Dirk Knowlton is living the cowboy dream. Life should be good-roping, branding, backing broncs, riding bulls, but there's a void he can't seem to fill. After getting hung up by a bull, he wonders if this is really the life he wants. Restless and rebellious, he bolts...but there's a certain cowgirl he can't forget. When a battle-scarred Dirk returns to his Montana ranch he's determined to hang on at any cost. Janice has come back home to lick her own wounds. When old dreams turn to dust, can two wary hearts take another chance on love? Praise for Victoria Vane: "Erotic and sexy...absolutely marvelous." -Library Journal, Top E-Book Romance of 2012 "The Mistress of Sensuality does it again!!" -Swept Away By Romance Blog "With Ms Vane's trademark prose and touches of humor-this is once again a brilliant story by a gifted writer." -Romantic Historical Lovers Reviews