Join Walking Mountains Science Center with special guest Martin Ogle on Thursday, November 16th at 6:30 pm at their Science Center in Avon, as they explore the interconnectedness of our living and nonliving systems during this two hour presentation on A Living Earth. Martin Ogle’s presentation will clearly lay out the science of Gaia Theory and explore how human economics, energy systems and even the ways we think and behave are all part of Earth’s ecology and evolution.
The Gaia hypothesis – now Gaia theory – was developed in the late 1960’s by Dr. James Lovelock, a British scientist and inventor. As part of his research with NASA – when he determined there was probably no life on Mars – he came to his profound new insights about our own planet. Gaia Theory posits that organic and inorganic components and processes of Planet Earth are enmeshed as a single living system that has greatly moderated global temperature, atmospheric content, ocean salinity, and other factors. In this respect, Earth’s living system can be thought of as analogous to an individual organism that regulates body temperature, blood salinity, etc. Lovelock’s idea gained early support from Lynn Margulis, an eminent microbiologist, and has become the basis for Earth System Science.
Today, in the midst of great challenges we face, the intersection between science and metaphor must guide us. We need something to inspire us, to keep us inspired and to serve as a “clutch” to make a smooth transition between two ways of being. Just as a manual-shift car sputters and dies if the clutch is not employed, so do our efforts towards living sustainably on Earth stall out when the ideas we need do not mesh and catch hold. The Gaia Paradigm can enable a smooth transition between today’s destructive perspectives and practices and those by which we can live well within the natural limits of our world. As this transition takes place, both science and metaphors will, themselves, co-evolve as we ask new questions pertinent to our survival and wellbeing.
Before forming Entrepreneurial Earth, LLC, Martin Ogle worked for 27 years as Chief Naturalist for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. Mr. Ogle attained B.S. and M.S. degrees in Wildlife Science from Colorado State University and Virginia Tech, respectively. Mr. Ogle lives in Louisville, CO with his wife Lisa and twins, Cyrus and Linnea.
IF YOU GO…
What: The Science Behind A Living Earth
When: Thursday, November 16th | 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon
Cost: FREE, $5 suggested donation, Registration Required
Space is limited, please visit www.walkingmountains.org/sb to register!