Book Reviews (Jan 2010)

 
James Lovelock. The Vanishing Face of Gaia- A Final Warning. New York, NY: Basic Books 2009.  278 pp.  Bibliography 4 pp.  $25.00

James Lovelock is the originator of the modern awareness of Gaia as a unitary, living, geobiological entity. He points to serious growing dangers to human survival. Lovelock pulls no punches in confronting us over:

• Ignoring obvious evidence of global heating
• Failing to abide by the precautionary principle that states we must act in the interests of preservation of life and the environment on this planet – rather than exploiting our natural resources to exhaustion and extinction
• Failing to insist that our elected officials heed these warnings rather than voting for the self-interests of the powerful corporate and national interests that dominate our social governmental structures. 

Corporate and national self-interests have dominated in political arenas at all levels of government. For instance, the UN has equivocated about the seriousness of the dangers of global heating, producing 'consensus statements' that appear to carry the weight of careful scientific deliberation. Lovelock points out that the opposite is actually the case.

…the words used to express the consequences of global heating were blurred until they were acceptable to representatives from the oil-producing nations, who saw their national interests threatened by the scientific truth. If this is what the UN means by consensus, scientific truth cannot be expected to come from its deliberations, and we are misled about the dangers of global heating. (p. 12)

To facilitate the manipulation of public opinion about global heating, governments and industries are increasingly favoring research based on complex, theoretical computer models for global heating – at the expense of observational research. Computer model analyses are always subject to questioning about their underlying assumptions and processes for assessing the effects of diverse factors on climate change.

Lovelock notes that direct observations are much more difficult to contest – and research to gather data from direct observations is finding decreased funding. He trenchantly observes, "It is said that truth is the first casualty of war, and it seems that this is also true of climate change." (p. 12) We are starting to produce truth in a virtual world instead of discovering it. (p. 114.)

We have experienced a dip in the progression of increasing global temperatures since 2007. Those
who would have us ignore global heating view this as an indication that warnings about its dangers are exaggerated. Lovelock points out that the reverse is true:

…in 2007 the Earth passed a significant milestone when the area of floating Arctic ice that melted in the summer was about 3 million square kilometers greater than usual, an area thirty times larger than England. Despite the heat absorbed, the global temperature did not rise; in fact it fell slightly, perhaps because to melt ice it takes eighty-one times as much heat as to raise the same quantity of water one degree. This property of ice is called its “latent heat.” You can see this yourself by making a near full cup of tea with boiling water. It will be too hot even to sip. Adding cold water to cool it quickly rarely works; but add a single ice cube and it will be cool enough to drink in a few seconds. In a few more years all that floating ice may go, and then the sun will be free to heat the dark Arctic Ocean, No longer will it have the Sisyphean task of trying to melt white, reflecting ice that rejects 80 percent of the sunlight it receives so that to melt it consumes most of the radiant energy that would otherwise warm the ocean. (p. 16-17)

Analyzing the major approaches to reducing global heating, Lovelock favors nuclear power as the most efficient choice. He decries the critics who have obstructed governmental investments in this choice. Nowhere, however, does he address the issues of radioactive pollution that have not found any safe solution as yet.

Much of the countryside has become the site for fields planted with biofuel crops, biogas generators, and industrial-sized wind farms-all this when land is wholly needed to grow food and more importantly to sustain a habitable climate and chemical composition. Don’t feel guilty about opting out of this nonsense: closer examination reveals it as an elaborate scam in the interests of a few nations whose economies are enriched in the short term by the sale of wind turbines, biofuel plants, and other green-sounding energy equipment. Don’t for a moment believe the sales talk that these will save the planet. The salesmen’s pitch refers to the world they know, the urban world. The real Earth does not need saving. It can, will, and always has saved itself, and it is now starting to do so by changing to a state much less favorable for us and other animals. What people mean by the plea is “save the planet as we know it,” and that is now impossible. (p. 19)

Lovelock feels we have passed the point of no return.

…forces now taking the Earth to the hothouse... include the increasing abundance of greenhouse gases from industry and agriculture-gases from natural ecosystems damaged by global heating in the Arctic and the tropics. The vast ocean ecosystems that used to pump down carbon dioxide can no longer do so because the ocean turns to desert as it warms and grows more acidic; then there is the extra absorption of the sun’s radiant heat as white reflecting snow melts and is replaced by dark ground or ocean. Each separate increase adds heat, and together they amplify the warming that we cause. (p. 72)

He points out that carbon dioxide in the breath and ammonia in flatulence of close to 7 billion people plus the same emissions from their pets and livestock account for 23 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. On top of this we produce emissions in growing, distributing and preparing food. All of these add up to close to half of the entire greenhouse gas emissions on our planet. Furthermore, we destroy forests to produce food and other commodities

If just by living with our pets and livestock, we are responsible for nearly half the emissions of carbon dioxide, I do not see how the 60 percent reduction can be achieved without a great loss of life. Like it or not, we are the problem-and as a part of the Earth system. Not as something separate from and above it. (p. 74-5)

Lovelock is skeptical that we are capable of developing solutions to these problems in time to halt or reverse global heating.

Our contemporary industrial civilization is hopelessly unfitted to survival on an overpopulated and under-resourced planet, deluded by the thought that clever inventions and progress will provide the shoehorn that fits us into our imaginary niche. I think it is better we accept and understand how poor the chance of our personal survival is, but take hope from the fact that our species is unusually tough, has survived seven major climate catastrophes in the last million years, and is unlikely to go extinct in the coming climate catastrophe… (p. 81)

Our gravest dangers are not from climate change itself, but indirectly from starvation, competition for space and resources, and war. (p. 31)

…it is hubris to think that we know how to save the Earth: our planet looks after itself. All that we can do is try to save ourselves." (p. 13)

And Lovelock is not entirely without hope for redemptive lessons along humanity's path, as a continuing part of Gaia's future. He suggests that humanity may have the capacity to repeat today the responses seen during WWII – where people willingly sacrificed their lifestyles in order to rise to the threats to their survival. " Our obligation as an intelligent species is to survive; and if we can evolve to become an integrated intelligence within Gaia, then together we could survive longer." (p. 97)

This book is a MUST READ for anyone concerned with survival of life as we know it on our planet.

Review by Daniel J. Benor, MD
IJHC Editor in Chief

Bernie Siegel and Jennifer Sander. Faith, Hope & Healing: Inspiring Lessons Learned from People Living with Cancer, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley 2009.   226 pp    US$24.95

Bernie Siegel is a wonderful healer, his words bringing inspiration and solace through the stories shared in this heartwarming book. I was reminded of a story Bernie likes to tell about the start of his career in providing support and nurturing to women with breast cancer – as I read this collection of reports from 32 people who learned to deal with their cancers as teachers and inner healers. Bernie was distressed to find that many of the women he treated as a surgeon had no source of support outside their stressed families for dealing with their health challenges and the emotional turmoil they encountered – both from the cancers and from the medical treatments. Bernie invited a group of people who had undergone cancer surgery to meet regularly in his office in a  
support group.He found that the best way he could contribute was to let these people share their issues with each other and find support from each other, and to keep as quiet himself as he possibly could.

In this book there are stories of men and women, young and old, and a few as well of children who tell their experiences of dealing with cancers. For anyone who is challenged with cancer, this book brings the wonderful gift of hope. With the help, encouragement and support of the author, many of these people were able to arrive at a place of peace and inspiration, living their lives much more fully and meaningfully as a result of their experiences of dealing with cancer.

Review by Daniel J. Benor, MD
IJHC Editor in Chief

Cay Randall-May. Healing and the Creative Response: Four Key Steps Shared by Healers and Artists. Scottsdale, AZ: CayMay Press 2010.  $19.95  129 pp. Notes 4 pp.  References 4 pp.  Glossary 4 pp. Includes CD with voice discussion of many of the points considered in the paperback

Cay Randall-May is a highly unusual person, combining spiritual healing, art and science in her studies, work and personal life. She trained as an entomologist and for many years earned her living working with venomous scorpions. Her skills in the graphic arts were initially applied to drawings of insects, but have (literally) flowered and borne fruit in much more creative outlets. For years, Cay Randall-May 
has been a painter herself and teacher of painting for others. In parallel with her artistic abilities, she also developed her considerable intuitive abilities – to the point that C. Norman Shealy, MD, one of the pioneers in researching medical intuition, considers her among the top medical intuitives in the US.

In this excellent book (her fifth), Cay Randall-May discusses four steps involved in spiritual healing: Setting an intention; relaxing and clearing; engaging and blending; and attuning to the highest love. Her writing is clear and helpful to anyone wanting to understand the processes involved in healing.

This list of steps closely parallels those defined and taught by Lawrence LeShan, one of the earliest pioneers in studying healers and healing (LeShan 1974/1977). He found that the common denominators among healers were the steps of centering; joining with the healee; and joining with the All.

What Cay Randall-May offers us here adds substantially to healing awarenesses as taught by most healers. She points out how very similar steps and processes are involved when people engage in the creative arts. Illustrating her points with examples from painting, pottery, woodcarving, dance and more, she shows how creativity includes not only very similar processes, but also may produce similar healing outcomes.

This book is warmly recommended for anyone interested in the overlaps of healing and artistic creativity.

Reference:

LeShan L. The Medium, the Mystic and the Physicist, New York: Ballantine 1977. (UK edition: Clairvoyant Reality, Wellingborough, UK: Thorsons 1974).