Crop circles are shapes that are found in grain-related crops, in which the vegetation is bent into angles and then spiraled into complex patterns (Andrews 37). Crop circles have been around since the ancient times, but have only started to appear in numbers since the mid-1960's. Ever since then, the world has been perplexed as to the makers of these bizarre formations. Many of the crop circle designs are large and complex, and often appear overnight. Various explanations have been discussed, but there is still much of a debate as to who, or what, could be making these circles. .
The Gaia Theory, one theory that incorporates the ideas of "Mother Earth" showing signs of distress, was first thought out by a scientist named Timothy Zell in 1970. Later, in 1972, a British chemist by the name of James Lovelock refined the ideas of the Gaia Theory. The theory proposed that our planet is not lifeless; in fact, the crop circles are a response to "the atrocities committed against the planet by man and all our endeavors" (Andrews 63). Crop circles would be comparable to a bruise, or perhaps some bleeding that has become scarred, much like when a human gets hurt. Extensive industrialization and pollution is destroying the ozone layer, as well as causing serious health problems in people and in animals (Hussey). Even if the Gaia Theory is not the probable cause of crop circles, it may teach us a lesson in respecting and taking care of our environment.
Related to the Gaia theory is plasma vortices and whirlwinds. "Mother Earth" is using these whirlwinds to form crop circles so that we may be more aware of our damaged, struggling environment. The vortices normally associated with crop circles are water and plasma. Water vortices are air and water, rapidly spun into a whirlwind and then carried across land, leaving behind crop circles (Andrews 70). A plasma vortice is similar, although it is created with electrified air.
