. James W. Kirchner, a scientist, believes that this hypothesis can be compared to the writing of Shakespeare. Shakespeare stated that, " All the world's a stage," and the Gaia Hypothesis states that, "All the world is a living organism." (Oceans, p.2). Kirchner believes that metaphors inspire fruitful speculation, but that metaphors themselves are untestable. Lovelock has a separate metaphor for Gaia. Lovelock states that he sees Gaia as being like a tree. ‘A tree that quietly exists, never moving except to sway in the wind, yet endlessly conversing with the sunlight and the soil. Using sunlight and water and nutrient minerals to grow and change.' (Charlton, p.2). Another metaphor for Gaia is that it has been seen to be like a California Redwood. The redwood's tissue is 97% dead. The trunk has a thin layer of living organisms spread across its surface, and this is similar to the earth's lithosphere. The bark is seen to be like the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere is the protective coating on the Earth. The atmosphere protects the Earth like the bark protects the tree. The bark, like the atmosphere, allows the transfer of important gasses, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. "While much of the Earth may be considered ‘non-living,' the fact that all of these ‘non-living' parts are involved to some extent in living processes, suggests that the whole Earth is alive, just like a redwood tree." (Charlton, p.3). Another common metaphor is to equate the earth to the human. The oceans and rivers would be like the Earth's blood. Human blood carries vitamins, minerals, and life as do the oceans and rivers. The atmosphere is like the Earth's lungs, as it carries the air. It allows for the transfer of gasses and keeps them at an optimum level for life. The land is like the Earth's bones as it holds up the structure of the Earth and aids in its stability. Without bones a human body would not have any form,...
