‘Gaia system’ suffering from human impact, claims Huxley’s great grandson

Sir Crispin Tickell discusses human impact on the planet - News Release

Imperial College London Media Invitation
For immediate release
Thursday 18 October 2007

The potentially devastating impact of humans on the global environment should act as the catalyst for rethinking the future direction of society, an Oxford University environmentalist will claim at the inaugural T.H Huxley lecture at Imperial College London.

Press are invited to the College to attend this Thursday (18 October) evening’s lecture on, ‘Earth system science: Gaia and the human impact’, delivered by Sir Crispin Tickell, Director of the Policy Foresight Programme at the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilisation at Oxford University.

Sir Crispin will discuss the Gaia hypothesis, which proposes that living and nonliving parts of the earth are a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism. Named after the Greek earth goddess, this hypothesis postulates that all living things have a regulatory effect on the Earth's environment that promotes life overall.

Sir Crispin will talk about human impacts since the industrial revolution, which he claims have placed enormous pressures on the ‘Gaia system’. He will consider societal changes that need to be made in order to address this environmental imbalance.

Professor Martin Blunt, Head of the Department of Earth Science and Engineering, welcomed Sir Crispin’s lecture:

“The Imperial professor, Thomas H Huxley, for whom this annual lecture programme is named, was among those who correctly assessed the importance of living organisms in the character and functioning of the global environment. It is particularly fitting to have Sir Crispin visiting to discuss the Gaia hypothesis since it is an extension of Huxley’s original assessments.”

Professor Blunt went on to highlight the historical significance of the lecture:

“Huxley is one of the great figures in Imperial’s history and also Sir Crispin’s great grandfather, which makes the lecture all the more fitting during our year long Centenary celebrations.”

The T H Huxley Inaugural Lecture, ‘Earth system science: Gaia and the human impact’ will be held at room 1.47, Royal School of Mines Building, South Kensington Campus, Prince Consort Road, Imperial College London. The lecture will start at 17.30, Thursday 18 October 2007. Journalists wishing to attend should contact Imperial’s Press Officer, Colin Smith (see details below).

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Journalists wishing to attend should contact:
Colin Smith
Press Officer
Imperial College London
Email:
Email: cd.smith@imperial.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. About Sir Crispin Tickell

Sir Crispin Tickell is the Director of the Policy Foresight Programme at the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization at Oxford University. He is associated with other British universities as well as universities in the United States. His main interests are in the field of the environment and international affairs.

Most of his career was in the Diplomatic Service. He was Chef de Cabinet to the President of the European Commission (1977-80), Ambassador to Mexico (1981-83), Permanent Secretary of the Overseas Development Administration (1984-87), and British Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1987-90). He then became Warden of Green College, Oxford (1990-97, and Chancellor of the University of Kent (1996-2006). Among other things he was President of the Royal Geographical Society (1990-93); Chairman of the Board of the Climate Institute of Washington DC (1990-2002); Convenor of the Government Panel on Sustainable Development (1994-2000); a Trustee of the Baring Foundation (1992-2002); Inaugural Senior Visiting Fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment (2002-3), and Advisor At Large to the President of Arizona State University from 2002. Since 1992 he has been a member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and since 2007 President of Tree Aid.

He is author of Climate Change and World Affairs (1977 and 1986) and Mary Anning of Lyme Regis (1996). He has contributed to many books on environmental issues (including human population problems, and conservation of biodiversity). He was a member of two Government Task Forces: one on Urban Regeneration, the other on Potentially Hazardous Near Earth Objects. He has received many honours and distinctions. His interests go wide: they range from governance and business to climate, pre-Colombian art, and the early history of the Earth.

2. About Imperial College London

Rated as the world's ninth best university in the 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement University Rankings, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 11,500 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

With 66 Fellows of the Royal Society among our current academic staff and distinguished past members of the College including 14 Nobel Laureates and two Fields Medallists, Imperial's contribution to society has been immense.

Inventions and innovations include the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of our research for the benefit of all continues today with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle climate change and mathematical modelling to predict and control the spread of infectious diseases.

The College's 100 years of living science will be celebrated throughout 2007 with a range of events to mark the Centenary of the signing of Imperial's founding charter on 8 July 1907.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk