James Lovelock – worried Gaia will take its revenge

James Lovelock much beloved by the environmental lobby for his Gaia hypothesis that the Earth is itself a living organism, has died aged 103. He was a brilliant but idiosyncratic scientist, who left behind a treasure trove of inventions and discoveries ranging from microwaves ovens he developed in the 1950s  to instruments detecting damage to the ozone layer from CFCs which were later banned. His Gaia theory was popularised by a series of books, and benefited from the catchy name suggested