My last book review wasn’t too complimentary. I suggested that you do not waste your time reading Fluke. But this one you should read as it is a gem. Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr, subtitled How Our Planet Came to Life, is one of those books that deals with some complex topics, but in language that is easy to understand and, often, beautiful, like good literature.
The Introduction gets right into the premise of the book, and that is, that the Earth is a complex, living organism, not just a rock with life on the surface. The first example is how the Amazon rainforest doesn’t just passively receive eight feet of rain a year. Instead, it actively sends water skyward from its 400 billion trees, along with other bits of pollen, bacteria, and bits of leaves and bark. This rainforest provides much of the water it receives and influences the climate of the Earth.
The current thinking is that we and other living creatures aren’t inhabitants of Earth, we are Earth. Earth and its creatures are so intertwined that we need to think of them as one. All of Earth’s creatures have transformed the planet. Microorganisms are responsible for most of Earth’s mineral diversity. Humans are only the most extreme example of life transforming Earth.
It is still a controversial idea that Earth is alive. Part of the problem is that a satisfactory definition of life doesn’t exist. The most recent hypothesis of the living planet is called the Gaia hypothesis. Life and the planet have a coupled evolution.
The book is an exploration of how life has transformed the planet. It explains what it means to say that Earth itself is alive and is a celebration of the wondrous ecology that sustains our world.
Over billions of years tiny creatures have transformed the Earth’s crust, breaking down rock and freeing the metals inside. Earth has over 5,000 mineral species. This mineral diversity is due to the creatures transforming the rock. Other planets are not like this. They are like the Earth was originally, before it started to be transformed.
The continents are formed of granite, something rarely found elsewhere but abundant on Earth. Granite is less dense than basalt and will float over basalt. The granite continents float over the basalt base. How long did it take these tiny creatures to poop out enough granite to form the continents? A lot of tiny creatures over a very long time.
There is a chapter on how plankton in the oceans is the foundation of all life on Earth. The author masterfully explains how the rock planet was terraformed into a planet of surface soil, making terrestrial plant life possible.
Another chapter deals with the globe’s great kelp forests. There is a chapter on the effects of plastic on the planet. Another chapter explains the vital role that fire has in keeping forests healthy.
Of course, there is much here about the climate crisis. Managing the climate crisis depends on three monumental tasks: drastically reducing the flow of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, removing and sequestering excess atmospheric carbon, and adapting to climatic shifts that can’t be avoided. Wealthy nations need to replace fossil fuels with renewables and nuclear energy.
James Lovelock was the originator of the Gaia hypothesis. He died in 2022 at the age of 103. His concept of Gaia continually shifted from his introduction of the hypothesis in the 1960s until his death.
The author suggests an alternative to Lovelock’s evolving definition. “Life is not a wholly benevolent force purposefully working toward the greater good. There is no optimal state for the planet. Yet it is true that over great spans of time, Earth and its creatures have tended to coevolve relationships that promote the mutual persistence and imbue the planet with remarkable tenacity. Let’s be clear: we are not in danger of killing the creature we call Earth. Even if we unearthed and burned all the fossil fuels in existence—even if we induced a hellish hothouse state that extinguished our species and the majority of complex life—microbes and other resilient forms of life would persevere and the planet as a whole would eventually recover.”
“What we are in the process of destroying is the world as we have known it: the particular version of Earth in which our species and so many others evolved—a rendition of Earth that, compared to many of its previous states, is a genuine Eden. If unchecked, the horrifying transformation we have set in motion will ravage ecosystems across the globe and ruin billions of lives. The interventions required to prevent the worst outcomes of this crisis and maintain a habitable planet are known and achievable. If the nations most responsbi8le for the current crisis, and the most capable of managing it, fail to uphold their responsibilities, they will sacrifice much more than the Earth we’ve known—they will also preclude the possibility of a better world for humanity. To ignore the necessary changes here on Earth in favor of terraforming other planets in any meaningful time frame is unforgivable folly. We are nowhere near the level of ecological understanding and technological sophistication required to turn an inanimate and airless rock into a new Earth, but we are without question capable of preserving the one living planet we already have—and the only one we’ve ever found.”
Humanities existence is “a freakish one-off.” The circumstances that led to intelligent life are a staggeringly improbable chain of events. If there are any other intelligent beings out there, the distances between us are too great. Most planets are dead. Any with life have likely evolved their own indigenous life. They are not suited to us, even if we could get there. Any other intelligent beings can’t leave their planet any more than we can.
You should read this book. And we should send Elon to Mars.
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