The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), also known as the Earth Summit took place in 2002. I am not a supporter of the Green Party and my knowledge of this event was non-existent until we received an order recently from a customer for several personalised christening gifts for a baby to be named Gaia.
I vaguely remembered a TV series constructed around the Gaia Theory and, having a few spare moments over the Christmas break, I did some research. The Theory was formulated by James Lovelock in the ‘70s and suggests that the Earth is a self-regulating complex system which relies on the components of the system – surface temperature, atmospheric composition, and ocean salinity – to be relatively stable. Any marked changes could threaten life itself.
The Gaia Theory has led to several summits over the years to discuss how to best maintain this delicate balance, with the latest threat seen to come from global warming or climate change. Although there has been much talk, and a little action from some of the smaller countries, the biggest polluting countries responsible for much of the causes of global warming have failed to take action to reduce pollution. Whether the little girl who will receive her christening gifts will enjoy the same sort of conditions on Earth when she is an adult is not known. Some say the chances of her doing so are slim.
