Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1161
54 summer 2009 formed and they can be located at different epochs of the evolution of the biosphere and therefore found in the rocks associated with those periods. For example, the Carboniferous formations contain coal. At least one biosphere exists; anything that exists can be studied scientifically; the name of this science is biospherics. There is no valid argument that biospherics is not a science any more than there is one that evolution is not a science. unless, of course, one adopts a political or religious ideology in order to gain position and power. At the present moment evangelists oppose, by and large, evolution to gain contributions from their audiences of bible literalists. many powerfully placed reductionist scientists oppose biospherics because they want to be supported by government agencies and corporations that pay them to specialize and even to oppose total system sciences that would expose the problems associated with denying biospheric implications of a given chemical or manufactured product. This is big-time money. Two examples out of hundreds: scientist sell-outs pushing peasants off the land (Africa, etc.) or cutting down forests for big-money soybean agriculture (Brazil, etc.). h+: You refer to biosphere 2 as a success, but the media reports at the time made it sound like a failure. What succeeded about the mission and what failed… or at least showed off some big problems? JA: mission One aimed for eight people to live and stay in top health for two years in a closed life system modeled on a no-ice biosphere (which has occurred in the past). It aimed for the life system to include seven of the basic biomes of Biosphere 1, all of which would survive with an increase of biomass, produce a high-yield chemical-free agriculture, stabilize species numbers and maintain landscape diversity in the biomes (the rainforest had a higher species loss), recycle 100% of waste (human and animal), stabilize the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle at levels below those of concern for human health and recycle all air with a maximum loss of 10% a year (a tightly-sealed space vehicle loses thirty times more). And we promised to ensure full scientific monitoring by using a thousand different sensors plus detailed field surveys and publish all the results in peer-reviewed papers in reputable scientific journals and books. Biosphere 2 succeeded in achieving all these objectives. One unforeseen problem occurred: a decline in oxygen which was due to carbon dioxide being sequestered in the concrete, contrary to engineering predictions. some scientists, especially those involved in mountaineering, submarines, and space, thought this the most valuable part of the experiment, since we were able to monitor the physiological response of humans to a very gradual fall in oxygen occurring without a change in air pressure. One point we established was that oxygen can fall in a closed life system to sixteen percent with no noticeable effects on efficiency or well-being. We aimed at total self-sufficiency in food production, and wound up with around 80% — we did set records for closed systems and high- yield, non-polluting agriculture. The second crew achieved 100% food resOurCes Biosphere 2 http://www.b2science.org synergetic Press http://www.synergeticpress.com Photo by C. Allan Morgan