James Lovelock describes how he became of the world's greatest thinkers. From his childhood in south London to his first steps as a scientist, his work with organisations as diverse as NASA, Shell and the Marine Biological Association, Homage to Gaia describes the years of travel and work that led to Lovelock's crucial scientific breakthroughs in environmental awareness. From Lovelock's discovery of how CFCs are distributed globally and their impact on the ozone layer to the concept of Gaia, the theory that Earth is a self-regulating system. Homage to Gaia follows James Lovelock's struggle to develop a theory that would redefine how we see the Earth while coming to terms with what it means to be a responsible "child" of Earth. Lovelock's quest for Gaia has led to the founding of the Green movement and created a theory that is now the basis for almost all climate science. Homage to Gaia is essential, if at times uncomfortable, reading for anyone interested in the interaction between science and the environment. It is the personal account of the extraordinary life of one of the most influential writers of the twentieth-century.