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Earth

Observation and Measurement

What is the Gaia hypothesis?

British scientists James Lovelock (1919–) and Lynn Margulis (1938–) proposed the Gaia hypothesis in the 1970s. According to the theory, all living and non-living organisms on Earth form a single unity that is self-regulated by the organisms themselves. Therefore, the whole planet can be considered a huge single organism. Evidence for this theory is the stability of atmospheric conditions over eons.