Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1161
52 summer 2009 h+: You carried the biosphere 2 vision for a long time. how does a naturalist and adventurer find himself sending a crew into an enclosed space for several years? JOHN ALLeN: Actually, all naturalist adventurers work within a system of tight parameters. In my case, I do this on our research ship the Heraclitus on the Amazon or deep ocean, or on our Australia savannah restoration project in the remote outback, or wherever — adaptability to demanding and limited spaces is a necessity. In the case of the ship, the "closure" of Planet Water [earth] systems comes from gravity, not from a glass or steel structure. While the crew of mission One at Biosphere 2 spent two years inside Biosphere 2 without stepping outside, on a moon or mars Base, one would go in and out of the enclosure on geological or other expeditions. h+: A lot of space scientists and NAsA types contributed to the biosphere 2 mission. What was their interest? JA: The interest of those scientists connected with NAsA and space exploration was in understanding the vectors necessary for humans to live long periods in enclosed spaceships or on a moon or mars base. The russian, Japanese, Chinese and european space scientists were — and are — highly interested, in many cases more than the American agencies (unfortunately, I think). russia, China, and Japan are all planning moon missions and we work with all of them on the requirements of such self- sustaining structures. There's a lot of interest and ongoing exchanges with American space people, but not at the top levels, because of their emphasis upon the use of machines in space, and on sending up stored supplies for the humans in orbit rather than developing a self-cycling system. I think it will take another President with the vision capacity of Kennedy to change this situation. h+: What did the space scientists learn from biosphere 2? did you get much feedback? JA: NAsA financed two meetings here at our base on synergia ranch (in santa Fe, New mexico) and a number of NAsA geological, moon, and mars scientists have participated over the years at our Institute of ecotechnics conferences. specific feedbacks relate particularly to best crops to grow, waste recycling, stability of atmosphere composition, oxygen levels, use of soils and how to make the best soils. h+: say a bit about how you view biospherics, and how it helps us live better. JA: Biospherics, the science and understanding of our total life-system, (and any total life-system discovered or invented), helps us live better because: 1) it helps us think better about our actual conditions; 2) it educates our feelings to perceive complex, beautiful, dynamic forms; 3) it helps our health because we get out more to see these wonders; and 4) it stimulates inner growth by encouraging us to understand ourselves as part of a marvelous evolution at home in the universe. h+: there are arguments around that biospherics isn't really a science. What would you say makes it a science? JA: I first learned about this at Colorado school of mines in Historical Geology in 1953. Vladimir Vernadsky established it as a science in the 1920's after pushing biogeochemistry as far as it could go (he was one of the founders of that science). The earth's biosphere is the system that is composed of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, soils and mucks, and all the life forms on the planet. Biospherics is the name of the science that studies earth's biosphere and any other biosphere, including artificial ones like Biosphere. mining engineers study it because different ore-bodies are life- While there were some problems (with oxygen, for instance), the bionauts (who included longevity expert roy Walford — a pioneer in caloric restriction) managed to achieve their goal of living in this closed system for two years. After making improvements to the system, the Biospherians started a second mission in march, 1994. They intended to run ten months. But the mission ended early with management disputes and even accusations of vandalism by some crew members. It was all the vision of John Allen; a visionary, engineer, adventurer, avant-garde theater producer, systems ecologist and all- around unique individual. Now Allen has told his story. me and the Biospheres: A memoir by the Inventor of Biosphere 2 is a rambling, dense, charmingly told and almost-linear life narrative. We follow Allen on adventures in Vietnam (independently... in the middle of the war), in Katmandu, through the countercultural worlds of alternative theater in London, Paris, New York and Fort Worth, Texas, and finally into the Arizona desert for the biosphere project. Along the way, we meet a cast of characters that include the likes of Bucky Fuller, Ornette Coleman, William s. Burroughs, and Buzz Aldrin, along with hundreds of lesser- known scientists, engineers, environmentalists, theorists and performance artists, all ready to join Allen in attempting to prove that there is more to life than its fragmentary component parts. And sprinkled throughout the book are Allen's thoughts and observations, related primarily to his advocacy of "biospherics." But let's let him tell it. I conversed with Allen about Biosphere 2 and biospherics via email.