living organisms regulate their planet, and the evolution of species and their physical surroundings are a single inseparable process. The hypothesis points to stable conditions, such as oxygen levels, carbon dioxide concentrations and climate, as evidence that living organisms maintain a life-sustaining environment.The Gaia Hypothesis is a metaphor in itself that helps describe the planet as a living organism; a metaphor for the Earth as seen as a single physiological system. Lovelock describes the planetary ecosystem as alive because it behaves like a living organism by regulating its temperature and chemistry at a constant state favorable for life to develop. Another metaphor used by Lovelock is Daisyworld. Daisyworld is a computer-stimulated model of an imaginary planet developed by Lovelock to specifically demonstrate his Gaia hypothesis. In this model, Lovelock presents the behavior of the theoretical planet Daisyworld where the environment consists of a single entity (planetary temperature), and the biota consists of only two species: dark daisies that absorb radiation, and therefore warming the planet and light daisies that tend to reflect light, which has a cooling effect. Like the earth, Daisyworld maintains a constant temperature and the conditions for its survival by following its own natural processes. In the past, when the sun was not as bright as today, dark daisies flourished because they were able to absorb the warmth from the sunlight. The dark daisies gradually took over most of the planet, increasing the planet’s climate. When the suns intensity increased, the lighter daisies began to flourish by reflecting light and cooling the planet. Thus, the population of the light and dark daisies adjust themselves naturally to keep the temperature constant at the optimal level for daisy growth. In this way, Daisyworld is a metaphor for a self-regulating system, as predicted by Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis.The Selfis...
