This is the Guardian. James Lovelock was a true scientific pioneer and inventor extraordinary.

He worked with NASA and the UK Ministry of Defence,

came up with a device to measure the buildup of toxins in soil, water and air,

dabbled in cryogenics, filed more than 40 patents,

wrote more than 200 scientific papers and several books and even maybe invented the first ever microwave

oven.

But it was his Gaya theory about how our planet and the life on it interact that made James

Lovelock a household name. His incredible breadth of knowledge and unbounded

creativity allowed him to make predictions about the Earth's future,

issuing one of the earliest warnings that petroleum products were destabilizing the climate.

And Lovelock's accuracy in his predictions sometimes even seemed

prophetic. In his 2008 book The Revenge of Gaya he wrote that by 2020 extreme weather would be the norm.

Tonight, the desperate battle to contain California's historic fires is now a race

against time. Remember those storms that just kept on coming?

Almost every weekend, we had Kirra, we had Dennis, we had Storm Jorge.

Scientists in Siberia have confirmed the highest ever recorded temperature in the Arctic.

That's 38 degrees Celsius or 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Even as he passed his a hundredth birthday he was still theorizing about the future of AI and humanity.

The artificial intelligence is dependent upon the earth and the proper functioning of Gaia just as much as we are

and so it's got to work with us if it's going to stay alive.

Last week, James passed away on his 103rd birthday,

leaving a truly immense scientific legacy.

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