GAIA - GODDESS OR THERMOSTAT

This is a independent look at the concept of Gaia as a tightly coupled system, whose constituents are the biota and the physical environment . Within the system the biota, through normal mechanisms of evolution, unwittingly help regulate the environment within the bounds necessary for their survival. The example of maintaining a broad equilibrium of planetary transpiration is given. Some have given Gaia religious or p oetical attributes, others see the concept as an intellectual tool whi ch contributes to understanding of the relationship between animate an d inanimate nature.