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We are caught in an inescapable network of
mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all
indirectly. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The Gaia ModelAn Educational Tool for
Creating a Sustainable Future
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The Gaia Model
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The Physiosphere

• The Physiosphere is the physical substrate of
  life matter and energy. I have divided it into
  the four classical "elements" which are also the
  four basic constituents of, and prerequisites
  for, life
• Fire (energy),
• Air (primarily Oxygen and CO2),
• Earth (minerals),
• Water.

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The Biosphere

• In a nutshell, Gaia Theory posits that life
  itself sustains the conditions that sustain
  life...

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Fire

• Life on Earth is powered by solar energy
  (Fire) which it transforms, through
  photosynthesis, into biomass, making that energy
  available to all other lifeincluding us.

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Air

• Photosynthesis also draws Carbon Dioxide from
  the atmosphere and stores it in biomass, and
  releases free Oxygen, enabling us to breathe.
  Without plants, we would be unable to breathe.

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Earth

• Plants draw up minerals from the Earth,
  creating topsoil and thereby making these
  minerals available to other life. Without plants,
  we would have no topsoil at allor vice versa.

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Water

• Through evapotranspiration, forests create
  cloud cover and fresh water, and also filter that
  water. Without life there would be no fresh water
  on Earth.

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Life

• The biosphere, thenunique to this
  planetdrives our whole global life support
  system. It is both the cause and the consequence
  of the conditions that support life.

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The Noosphere

• The Noosphere is the sphere of information made
  possible by human language, consisting of four
  distinct and interacting categories of
  information flow that shape and determine our
  social world

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The Noosphere

• Politics information about power, authority, and
  entitlement who is in charge, what rules we must
  follow, our rights, privileges, and obligations
  with respect to those within and outside our
  political spheres.

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The Noosphere

• Technology information about the properties of
  our physical and biological world, and how to
  manipulate those properties in order to serve our
  purposes.

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The Noosphere

• Money information about the exchange value of
  commodities and services, as mediated through the
  global market economy.

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The Noosphere

• Culture information about values and priorities
  the shared assumptions of our societies, as
  mediated through language and the arts. Culture
  is the principal driver of the Noosphere.

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How does the Noosphere...
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Affect the Biosphere?
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Our Global Crisis in a Nutshell

• The Global Market Economy (Glomart), is based
  on the rules of money, and thus depends on the
  infinite growth of production and consumption...

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Our Global Crisis in a Nutshell

• ...while our planet (Gaia) is a finite,
  integrated system that is not growing any bigger!
• This results in two incompatible systems of value

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The Two Worlds

• Glomart
• More is always better
• You are what you own
• Nothing has value until it has a price
• The bottom line is the bottom line

• Gaia
• Enough is enough.
• You are what you do.
• Value is based on relationships.
• Life itself is what matters

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Global Threats to Gaia

• EARTH
• Topsoil depletion
• Loss of Agricultural Land
• Erosion
• Desertification
• Strip Mining
• Toxic Contamination

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Global Threats to Gaia

• AIR
• Global Warming
• Ozone Depletion
• Acid Rain
• Toxic Pollution

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Global Threats to Gaia

• FIRE
• Petroleum Depletion
• Natural Gas Shortages
• Pollution from Coal
• Nuclear Hazards
• Increased Dependence on Middle Eastern Oil

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Global Threats to Gaia

• WATER
• Global Shortages of Fresh Water
• Depleted Aquifers
• Groundwater Contamination
• Ocean Pollution
• High Energy Costs of Desalination

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Global Threats to Gaia

• LIFE
• Loss of Habitat
• Rapidly Declining Biodiversity
• Deforestation
• Declining Fisheries Worldwide

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Global Threats to Gaia

• HUMANITY
• Growing Gap between Rich and Poor
• Overpopulation
• Sprawl Gridlock
• War and Terrorism
• Erosion of Democracy

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So what can we do about it?
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Operating Hypothesis

• The interrelated root causes of our global
  crisis--
• Money
• Politics
• Technology
• Culture

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Operating Hypothesis

• are also our only points of intervention for
  solving it!
• Money (Economic Incentives)
• Politics (Citizen Activism)
• Technology (Sustainable Innovations)
• Culture (Public Education Initiatives)

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Using The Gaia Model
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Procedure

• 1. Begin by selecting a problem domain from the
  Physiosphere...
• Earth (e.g. Topsoil Depletion)
• Air (e.g. Global Warming)
• Fire (e.g. Petroleum Depletion)
• Water (e.g. Aquifer Depletion)

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Procedure

• ...or the Biosphere
• Deforestation
• Depletion of Fisheries
• Loss of Biodiversity
• Land, Air, and Water Pollution
• Toxic Contamination of our bodies

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Procedure

• ...or even the Noosphere
• Suburban Sprawl
• Consumer Culture
• Militarism
• Extremes of Wealth and Poverty
• Obesity
• Automobile Dependency

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Procedure

• 2. Then spin the Four Drivers of the Noosphere
  through your chosen problem domain--

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Procedure

• 3. Discuss how each of these contributes to the
  problem you have identified...
• Money (Externalizing Costs)
• Politics (Corruption)
• Technology (Obsolescence)
• Culture (Greed, Ignorance, Denial, Despair)

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Procedure

• 4. And then, how changes in each Noospheric
  driver can help resolve the problem--
• Money (Economic Incentives)
• Politics (Legislation)
• Technology (Innovative Solutions)
• Culture (Public Education and Community-Building)

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Procedure

• 5. Finally, once you have brainstormed solutions
  in these areas, break out into 4 smaller groups
  and draw up strategic plans in each area for
  addressing local manifestations of the global
  problem you have chosen.

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Possible Uses

• The Gaia Model can be used...
• in schools and community colleges, for teaching
  environmental education
• in universities, for interdisciplinary curricula
  and research projects
• in communities, for strategic planning and
  problem-solving
• in the private sector, for promoting natural
  capitalism, saving energy, and stimulating
  technological innovation.
• by nonprofit organizations, for planning public
  education and political action initiatives.

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One final thought

• The world we live in is the collective effect of
  decisions we each make every day...

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One final thought

• To the exact extent we each assume responsibility
  for our living planet...

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One final thought

• In the money we spend, the policies we enact, the
  technology we invent, and the culture we create...

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One final thought

• We can still bring about the Spontaneous
  Remission of the Cancer of the Earth...

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One final thought

• And give our children the Gaian Future they
  deserve.