Editing James Lovelock (section)

=== Climate ===
{{Over-quotation|section|both=y |date=November 2024}}

Writing in ''[[The Independent]]'' in 2006, Lovelock argued that, as a result of global warming, "billions of us will die and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the [[Arctic]] where the climate remains tolerable" by the end of the 21st century.<ref name="Lovelock-2006">{{Cite news |last=Lovelock |first=James |name-list-style=vanc |date=16 January 2006 |title=The Earth is about to catch a morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000 years |url=http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article338830.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060408121826/http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article338830.ece |archive-date=8 April 2006 |access-date=4 October 2007 |work=The Independent |ref=none}}</ref> The same year he suggested that "we have to keep in mind the awesome pace of change and realise how little time is left to act, and then each community and nation must find the best use of the resources they have to sustain civilisation for as long as they can."<ref name="Lovelock-2006" /> He further predicted in 2007 that the temperature increase would leave much of the world's land uninhabitable and unsuitable for farming, with northerly migrations and new cities created in the Arctic; furthermore that much of Europe will have turned to desert and Britain will have become Europe's "life-raft" due to its stable temperature caused by being surrounded by the ocean.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jeffries |first=Stuart |name-list-style=vanc |date=15 March 2007 |title=We should be scared stiff |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/mar/15/desertification.ethicalliving |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728175751/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/mar/15/desertification.ethicalliving |archive-date=28 July 2022 |access-date=28 July 2022 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>  He was quoted in ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2008 that 80% of humans will perish by 2100, and this [[climate change]] will last 100,000 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aitkenhead |first=Decca |name-list-style=vanc |date=1 March 2008 |title=James Lovelock: 'Enjoy life while you can: in 20 years global warming will hit the fan' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2008/mar/01/scienceofclimatechange.climatechange |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728175750/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2008/mar/01/scienceofclimatechange.climatechange |archive-date=28 July 2022 |access-date=28 July 2022 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

In a 2010 interview with the ''Guardian'' newspaper, he said that democracy might have to be "put on hold" to prevent climate change.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hickman |first=Leo |name-list-style=vanc |date=29 March 2010 |title=James Lovelock: Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/mar/29/james-lovelock-climate-change |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806204710/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/mar/29/james-lovelock-climate-change |archive-date=6 August 2019 |access-date=25 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> He continued:

{{blockquote|Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while.}}

Statements from 2012 portrayed Lovelock as continuing his concern over global warming while at the same time criticising extremism and suggesting alternatives to oil, coal and the green solutions he did not support.<ref name="Johnston-2012">{{Cite news |last=Johnston |first=Ian |name-list-style=vanc |date=23 April 2012 |title='Gaia' scientist James Lovelock: I was 'alarmist' about climate change |url=http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11144098-gaia-scientist-james-lovelock-i-was-alarmist-about-climate-change?lite |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424004036/https://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11144098-gaia-scientist-james-lovelock-i-was-alarmist-about-climate-change?lite |archive-date=24 April 2012 |access-date=12 November 2016 |publisher=[[MSNBC]]}}</ref>

In a 2012 interview aired on [[MSNBC]], Lovelock stated that he had been "alarmist", using the words "All right, I made a mistake," about the timing of climate change and noted the documentary ''[[An Inconvenient Truth]]'' and the book ''[[The Weather Makers]]'' as examples of the same kind of alarmism. Lovelock still believed the climate to be warming, although not at the rate of change he once thought; he admitted that he had been "extrapolating too far." He believed that climate change is still happening, but it will be felt further in the future.<ref name="Johnston-2012" /> Of the claims "the science is settled" on global warming, he stated:<ref name="Goldstein-2012" />  {{blockquote |One thing that being a scientist has taught me is that you can never be certain about anything. You never know the truth. You can only approach it and hope to get a bit nearer to it each time. You iterate towards the truth. You don't know it.<ref name="Goldstein-2012">{{Cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Lorrie |name-list-style=vanc |date=23 June 2012 |title=Green 'drivel' exposed |url=http://www.torontosun.com/2012/06/22/green-drivel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724105948/http://www.torontosun.com/2012/06/22/green-drivel |archive-date=24 July 2012 |access-date=22 June 2012 |work=[[Toronto Sun]]}}</ref>}} He criticised environmentalists for treating global warming like a religion.<ref name="Goldstein-2012" /> {{blockquote |It just so happens that the green religion is now taking over from the Christian religion.}} {{blockquote |I don't think people have noticed that, but it's got all the sort of terms that religions use{{nbsp}}... The greens use guilt. That just shows how religious greens are. You can't win people round by saying they are guilty for putting (carbon dioxide) in the air.<ref name="Goldstein-2012" />}}
In this 2012 MSNBC article, Lovelock is quoted as saying:<ref name="Johnston-2012" /> {{blockquote |The problem is we don't know what the climate is doing. We thought we knew 20 years ago. That led to some alarmist books – mine included – because it looked clear-cut, but it hasn't happened.
The climate is doing its usual tricks. There's nothing much really happening yet. We were supposed to be halfway toward a frying world now.
The world has not warmed up very much since the millennium. Twelve years is a reasonable time{{nbsp}}... it (the temperature) has stayed almost constant, whereas it should have been rising – carbon dioxide is rising, no question about that.<ref name="Johnston-2012" />}}  In a follow-up interview also in 2012, Lovelock stated his support for natural gas; he favoured [[fracking]] as a low-polluting alternative to coal.<ref name="Hickman-2012" /><ref name="Goldstein-2012" /> He opposed the concept of "[[sustainable development]]", where modern economies might be powered by [[wind turbine]]s, calling it meaningless drivel.<ref name="Goldstein-2012" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 December 2012 |title=James Lovelock letter on wind turbines Broadbury Ridge |url=http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/01/30/james_lovelock_objection.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112043835/http://regmedia.co.uk/2013/01/30/james_lovelock_objection.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2014 |access-date=12 January 2013 |work=The Register}}</ref> He kept a poster of a wind turbine to remind himself how much he detested them.<ref name="Hickman-2012" />

In ''[[Novacene]]'' (2019), Lovelock proposed that benevolent [[superintelligence]] may take over and save the ecosystem and stated that the machines would need to keep organic life around to keep the planet's temperature habitable for electronic life.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Poole |first=Steven |name-list-style=vanc |date=27 June 2019 |title=Novacene by James Lovelock review – a big welcome for the AI takeover |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/27/novacene-by-james-lovelock-review |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730203730/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/27/novacene-by-james-lovelock-review |archive-date=30 July 2022 |access-date=30 July 2022 |work=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> On the other hand, if instead life becomes entirely electronic, "so be it: we played our part and newer, younger actors are already appearing on stage".{{sfn|Lovelock|Appleyard|2019}}{{page needed|date=July 2022}}

==== Ocean fertilisation ====
In 2007, Lovelock and [[Chris Rapley]] proposed the construction of [[Pelagic pumping|ocean pumps to pump water up]] from below the thermocline to "fertilize [[algae]] in the surface waters and encourage them to bloom".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lovelock |first=James E. |last2=Rapley |first2=Chris G. |name-list-style=vanc |date=27 September 2007 |title=Ocean pipes could help the Earth to cure itself |journal=Nature |volume=449 |issue=7161 |pages=403 |bibcode=2007Natur.449..403L |doi=10.1038/449403a |issn=1476-4687 |pmid=17898747 |s2cid=4340626 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The basic idea was to accelerate the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ocean by increasing [[primary production]] and enhancing the [[export production|export]] of organic carbon (as [[marine snow]]) to the deep ocean. A scheme similar to that proposed by Lovelock and Rapley was later developed independently by a commercial company.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biological Ocean Sequestration of {{CO2}} Using Atmocean Upwelling |url=http://www.atmocean.com/sequestration.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013153833/http://atmocean.com/sequestration.htm |archive-date=13 October 2007 |access-date=3 October 2007 |publisher=[[Atmocean, Inc.]]}}</ref>

The proposal attracted widespread media attention<ref name="Smith-2007">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Lewis |name-list-style=vanc |date=26 September 2007 |title=Scientists propose 'plumbing' method to solve crisis of global warming |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2538897.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512022710/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2538897.ece |archive-date=12 May 2008 |access-date=3 October 2007 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Highfield |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Highfield |name-list-style=vanc |date=26 September 2007 |title=James Lovelock's plan to pump ocean water to stop climate change |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fearth%2F2007%2F09%2F26%2Fsciwater126.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011082244/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fearth%2F2007%2F09%2F26%2Fsciwater126.xml |archive-date=11 October 2007 |access-date=4 October 2007 |work=[[The Telegraph (newspaper)|The Telegraph]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Michael |author-link=Michael McCarthy (journalist) |name-list-style=vanc |date=27 September 2007 |title=Pipes hung in the sea could help planet to 'heal itself' |url=http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article3001626.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011013930/http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article3001626.ece |archive-date=11 October 2007 |access-date=4 October 2007 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jha |first=Alok |name-list-style=vanc |date=27 September 2007 |title=How sea tubes could slow climate change |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/sep/27/climatechange |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005173131/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/sep/27/climatechange |archive-date=5 October 2014 |access-date=4 October 2007 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> and criticism.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williamson |first=Phillip |name-list-style=vanc |date=1 October 2007 |title=Cold water on global warming plans |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/oct/01/climatechange.mainsection |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825222938/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/oct/01/climatechange.mainsection |archive-date=25 August 2019 |access-date=25 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hari |first=Johann |name-list-style=vanc |date=6 October 2007 |title=The last green taboo: engineering the planet |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/local/opinion/article/The-last-green-taboo-engineering-the-planet-1251713.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825222641/https://www.seattlepi.com/local/opinion/article/The-last-green-taboo-engineering-the-planet-1251713.php |archive-date=25 August 2019 |access-date=25 August 2019 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]}}</ref><ref name="Shepherd-2007">{{Cite journal |last=Shepherd |first=J. |last2=Iglesias-Rodriguez |first2=D. |last3=Yool |first3=A. |name-list-style=vanc |year=2007 |title=Geo-engineering might cause, not cure, problems |journal=Nature |volume=449 |issue=7164 |pages=781 |bibcode=2007Natur.449..781S |doi=10.1038/449781a |pmid=17943101 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Commenting on the proposal, [[Corinne Le Quéré]], a [[University of East Anglia]] researcher, said "It doesn't make sense. There is absolutely no evidence that [[climate engineering]] options work or even go in the right direction. I'm astonished that they published this. Before any geoengineering is put to work a massive amount of research is needed – research which will take 20 to 30 years".<ref name="Smith-2007" /> Other researchers claimed that "this scheme would bring water with high natural [[PCO2|{{italics correction|''p''}}{{CO2}}]] levels (associated with the nutrients) back to the surface, potentially causing exhalation of {{CO2}}".<ref name="Shepherd-2007" /> Lovelock subsequently said that his proposal was intended to stimulate interest and that research would be the next step,{{sfn|Lovelock|2009|p=98}} and several research studies were published in the wake of the original proposal.<ref name="Yool-2009">{{Cite journal |last=Yool |first=A. |last2=Shepherd |first2=J.G. |last3=Bryden |first3=H.L. |last4=Oschlies |first4=A. |name-list-style=vanc |year=2009 |title=Low efficiency of nutrient translocation for enhancing oceanic uptake of carbon dioxide |journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research]] |volume=114 |issue=C8 |pages=C08009 |bibcode=2009JGRC..114.8009Y |doi=10.1029/2008JC004792 |quote=...{{nbsp}}enhancing the ocean's uptake of CO2 by 1 Gt C / y would require approximately 0.8 billion pumps (of 1&nbsp;m diameter) to be deployed. |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Oschlies-2010">{{Cite journal |last=Oschlies |first=A. |last2=Pahlow |first2=M. |last3=Yool |first3=A. |last4=Matear |first4=R.J. |name-list-style=vanc |year=2010 |title=Climate engineering by artificial ocean upwelling: Channelling the sorcerer's apprentice |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL041961 |url-status=live |journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]] |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=L04701 |bibcode=2010GeoRL..37.4701O |doi=10.1029/2009GL041961 |s2cid=28795204 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104143428/https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL041961 |archive-date=4 January 2023 |access-date=2023-01-04 |quote=However, the model predicts that about 80% of the carbon sequestered is stored on land, as a result of reduced respiration at lower air temperatures brought about by upwelling of cold waters.}}</ref> However, these estimated that the scheme would require a huge number of pipes,<ref name="Yool-2009" /> and that the main effect of the pipes may be on the land rather than in the ocean.<ref name="Oschlies-2010" />

==== Sustainable retreat ====
{{See also|Climate change adaptation}}
Sustainable retreat is a concept developed by Lovelock to define the necessary changes to human settlement and dwelling at the global scale to adapt to global warming and prevent its expected negative consequences on humans.{{sfn|Lovelock|2006}}{{page needed|date=July 2022}}

Lovelock thought the time was past for sustainable development and that we had come to a time when development is no longer [[sustainable]]. Therefore, we needed to retreat. Lovelock stated the following to explain the concept:<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Goodell |first=Jeff |author-link=Jeff Goodell |name-list-style=vanc |date=1 November 2007 |title=James Lovelock, the Prophet |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/james-lovelock-the-prophet-192646/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825222938/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/james-lovelock-the-prophet-192646/ |archive-date=25 August 2019 |access-date=25 August 2019 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>{{blockquote|Retreat, in his view, means it's time to start talking about changing where we live and how we get our food; about making plans for the migration of millions of people from low-lying regions like Bangladesh into Europe; about admitting that New Orleans is a goner and moving the people to cities better positioned for the future. Most of all, he says, it's about everybody "absolutely doing their utmost to sustain civilization, so that it doesn't degenerate into Dark Ages, with warlords running things, which is a real danger. We could lose everything that way."}}

The concept of sustainable retreat emphasises a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs with lower levels or less environmentally harmful types of resources.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=John |name-list-style=vanc |date=27 January 2006 |title=The Revenge of Gaia, by James Lovelock |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-revenge-of-gaia-by-james-lovelock-6110631.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727224852/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-revenge-of-gaia-by-james-lovelock-6110631.html |archive-date=27 July 2022 |access-date=30 July 2022 |work=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>