Lovelock wrote Gaia for the general public, not for scientists. But there is a lot of science in this 1979 work. Lovelock suggests that the Earth is a superorganism, made up of all living things, interacting with the air, the oceans, and the surface rocks of the planet. He calls it 'Gaia' and suggests it takes an active role in keeping the planet safe for life, with automatic feedback mechanisms making adjustments as needed. The implication that Gaia is somehow self-aware remains controversial, but—as an early voice in the global warming debate—Lovelock helped give rise to a new, multidisciplinary field known as Earth system science.