[getsmart-l] CBC Ideas: James Lovelock , Pollutants, & Gaia Hypothesis

[Gloria Boxen]

CBC Ideas has been running a series called "How to Think About Science.  Podcasts are available at

http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?45#ref45.  

Last night's episode was an interview with James Lovelock.  The Gaia hypothesis (the name was not his choice)  came to him when he was working with NASA on how to detect if there was life on  Mars.  They invited him to work on this problem because he had invented the electron capture detector and other devices to measure minute amounts of chemicals.

 "Welcome to the personal website of James Lovelock, originator of Gaia theory, inventor of the electron capture detector (which made possible the detection of CFCs and other atmospheric nano-pollutants) and of the microwave oven. http://www.jameslovelock.org/  "

A some of the content covered in the interview can be found at his website, under Significant Scientific Contributions http://www.jameslovelock.org/page3.html.    The interview also covers his childhood and how he came to science and more about the self-regulation of the earth.

Gloria Boxen

 Episode Six - James Lovelock 

 Forty years ago, British scientist James Lovelock put forward the first elements of what he would come to call the Gaia theory. At first many biologists scoffed. Today, Lovelock’s ideas are more widely accepted, even in circles where he was initially scorned. Last year, he published "The Revenge of Gaia", and in this week's podcast, we present a profile of James Lovelock. 
 Right click to Download Episode Six - James Lovelock
 [mp3 file: runs 52:41]

The previous episode also looks interesting.
 
  Episode Five - Ulrich Beck & Bruno Latour 

Ulrich Beck talks about the place of science in a risk society. You’ll also hear from another equally influential European thinker, Bruno Latour, the author of "We Have Never Been Modern." He will argue that our very future depends on overcoming a false dichotomy between nature and culture. 
 Right click to Download Episode Five - Ulrich Beck & Bruno Latour
 [mp3 file: runs 52:17] 



  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.web.net/archives/getsmart-l/attachments/20080103/6626f399/attachment-0001.htm