It is hard to say whether the earth is sentient or not; GAIA suggests that it is a living organism, and from that we may deduce that at some level it is sentient.
As guest 12698 suggests, CO2 is necessary for trees to breathe and in exchange they breathe out O2. An increase in the tree/plant population might have a beneficial effect, but our greed has led us to clear cut old growth forests which are living organism in their own right, so we have collectively done nothing to offset the damage we continually do to our "mother" for want of a better word.
Humans are no different than any other planetary organisms that are virulent in their growth and expansion of territory. Animals tend to self regulate instinctively, but, for example, when we bash baby seals brains in order to get their pelts, the seal population gets bigger because they have more offspring to balance the loss - it is either that, or go extinct. So larger colonies require larger amounts of food, something we should easily understand, but instead we use that against the seals and thereby perpetuate a non-ending negative spiral which in turn depletes marine sources of food for us as well as the seals.
The earth is not concerned with morality - that is a human invention. It simply lives. We and all life forms that live off her are her senses. We help her to regulate herself. But if we are not mindful of the damage we cause her, we will ultimately pay the price - not in the form of retribution or karma - but just as a result of the earth trying to restore balance. The earth will make such adjustments as are necessary to achieve that balance, and that may end up being beyond the range of human tolerance. Unfortunately, for all the advances we have made collectively, we have done so at the expense of our environment, and ultimately at the detriment of our planet.
There is some urgency if we wish to continue to live, but we will need to understand that the world is not a galactic rock that exists for our exclusive use and abuse. In human terms we need to work with life. Being the most intelligent species on this planet, we have a responsibility to be the custodians of all life that the earth brings forth - not selectively, because that changes the equation and the balance of life. We need to understand that now if we are to reverse the trend of the human footprint on this planet
But in galactic or interstellar terms there is no urgency. What does it matter to a planet that after 4 billion years, her proudest achievement has turned renegade? She still needs to take care of herself, so if we do become extinct, she still has the memory to bring forth life again even if it takes another few billion years.
I believe that the earth, through all the living things that she has brought forth, has attained sentience. The more science delves into the nature of the organism we call earth, the more clear I believe that nature will become to us. I think we should level with our kids since they will be the torch bearers of the future. They should have a strong sense of respect for their planet, and should be encouraged to become in tune with all life that they share the planet with.
If you want to explore this subject further, you may wish to read Stephan Harding's "Animate Earth" or Fritjof Capra's "The Web of Life". There is also a more technical treatise on Gaia by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis.
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