James Lovelock coined the term Gaia to consider the Earth as a living, life sustaining and self-regulating system. The Gaia theory has become the foundation for a science that explores how the Earth and all things, organic and inorganic, are interconnected. The Earth has spent billions of years regulating the atmosphere, temperatures and ocean salinity to ensure it is habitable. Many scientists now use the Gaia theory to find sustainable methods that support our Earth rather than harm it.
One example is the Rich Earth Institute that is developing systems for repurposing human waste into agricultural fertilizer, specifically urine. Check out their website http://richearthinstitute.org . Since the processes of creating clean drinking water and wastewater treatment is resource (water and energy) intensive, I think this is the type of innovation that could be a step in the right direction. This is just one of many examples of projects underway to apply the Gaia theory to the design of governmental, economic, energy, and social systems. I think the theory is becoming commonly accepted and embraced.
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