# Humanity Is a Planetary Malady but Gaia Needs Us by James Lovelock > “We are the intelligent elite among animal life on Earth and whatever our mistakes, Gaia needs us. This may seem an odd statement after all that I have said about the way twentieth-century humans became almost a planetary disease organism. But it has taken Gaia 3.5 billion years to evolve an animal that can think and communicate its thoughts. If we become extinct, she has little chance of evolving another.” > **— James Lovelock**, *The Vanishing Face of Gaia, 2009, p. 27* ## Sources and Context - **Book passage:** [James Lovelock, *The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning*, 2009, printed p. 27, scanned primary text](https://healthcarearchitecture.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/The-Vanishing-Face-of-Gaia_-A-Final-Warning-Basic-Books-2009.pdf) and [publisher’s book record](https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/james-lovelock/the-vanishing-face-of-gaia/9780465019076/). This is one continuous four-sentence passage. “Planetary disease organism” is qualified by “almost”; Lovelock immediately argues that Gaia needs human intelligence. The book says **3.5 billion years**, correcting the earlier article’s “two and a half” paraphrase. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Greatest Transformation in Human History|The Greatest Transformation in Human History]] - **Article:** [[articles/Climate Systems as Human Resilience Platforms|Climate Systems as Human Resilience Platforms]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/James Lovelock|James Lovelock]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “We are the intelligent elite among animal life on Earth and whatever our mistakes, Gaia needs us. This may seem an odd statement after all that I have said about the way twentieth-century humans became almost a planetary disease organism. But it has taken Gaia 3.5 billion years to evolve an animal that can think and communicate its thoughts. If we become extinct, she has little chance of evolving another.” — James Lovelock, The Vanishing Face of Gaia, 2009, p. 27 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-lovelock-planetary-malady-gaia-needs-us ```