Variation 22 from Gaian Variations by Nathan Currier

22. Lovelock Interlude: to Emily, a love song

[One critic referred to my first book scathingly as a fairy story about a Greek goddess. In a way he was right. It was also a long letter to a yet unknown love.............]

Emiliana huxleyii, known by her friends as Emily, is one of the more important parts of the biota. Blooms of these phytoplankton cover parts of the sea; their presence powerfully affects the environment, through their capacity to facilitate the removal of carbon dioxide from the air, and their production of dimethyl sulfide, which acts to nucleate clouds on the sea. Anything affecting the cloud cover over the seas could powerfully affect the climate of the Earth. Calculations to estimate the effect that the present natural emissions of dimethyl sulfide could have suggest that it is comparable to the whole carbon dioxide greenhouse, but in opposition to it. Dimethyl sulfide, made by Emily, is also now known to be the major bearer of the element sulfur to the land from the sea (a mineral without which we cannot live - Emiliana - Emily - Emily, my love!).

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