Midwife to the greens: the electron capture detector.

James E. Lovelock makes an account of the path he has followed since he started his scientific research at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in London in the 1940s, emphasizing the aspects related to environmental sciences. Lovelock explains the origins of the electron capture detector (ECD). So far, the ECD is the most sensitive, easily portable and inexpensive analytical apparatus capable of detecting substances present in the atmosphere at concentrations as low as parts per trillion (10(-12)). It has been the first device specifically sensitive to pollutants, and its use has provided the grounds for the development of environmental sciences, and green politics. The data gathered by the ECD about the persistence of pesticides in the environment led American biologist Rachel Carson to write her seminal book Silent Spring; data regarding the global presence of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in the atmosphere led Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina to develop their theory of ozone depletion. The results of his research over the years led Lovelock himself to the development of the Gaia theory.