Should have just entitled this ‘42’

In homage to Douglas Adams’

‘Answer to the ultimate question

Of Life, the Universe and Everything’

I could otherwise have settled for ‘103’

Another amazing number:

The years that James Lovelock lived

Until he left us two days ago

[With his customary admirable precision],

 on his birthday,

Near our former home, in Abbotsbury.

‘James who?’, you ask,

And you’ll be happy you did.

He was the originator of the ‘Gaia Hypothesis’

Which views Planet Earth

And its living and non-living components

As one self-regulating system of systems

Which seems to privilege ‘life’

[Whatever ‘life’ is …

But don’t look to scientists for that –

They still can’t actually define it!].

I suppose that Lovelock was proposing

A sort of scientific underpinning

To Chief Seattle’s

‘All things are connected’ contention.

In his 100^th year he stated:

“The Biosphere and I are both

In the last 1% of our lives”.

For once, he was wrong!

‘Jim’ made it to 103.

It turns out

He was on his last 3%.

Let’s hope he proves to be

At least equally ‘wrong’

About the Biosphere’s

Life expectancy … and ours …

[but I strongly suspect not],

Before we get

Past the point of no-return:

The critical,

Irreversible

‘Tipping point’

Where it’s out of our hands

Once and for all time to come

Into what he termed:

The realm of The Revenge of Gaia,

And Chief Seattle:

“The end of living

And the beginning of survival”.

Chilling thought, isn’t it ……?

In Memoriam: Prof. James Ephraim Lovelock