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What’s in a sample of air?
A tissue sample of the air, taken near the surface, shows an energetic
and unstable mix of gases: oxygen at 21 per cent coexisting with
methane, though they are highly reactive; low carbon dioxide, implying
active regulation of this gas; and many trace gases of biochemical
origin, the aerial messengers, scavengers, and carriers of Gaia
(analogous to those within our own body chemistry). Living organisms
are thinly spread travelers (though myriads of spores, seeds, and
microbes use the air for dispersion). Near the ground, leaves extend
the gaseous exchange boundary, but the air itself is a biological
product, an extension of Gaia’s metabolism, a result of active
exchange of gases with living organisms. The air is a protective
skin, a warming blanket, an exchange and water circulation medium.
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