In the early 90’s some wealthy New Age Texas environmental money, in magnitudes well over $100 million were poured into a 3 acre structure in Arizona that was to simulate the earth in a closed environment. It was called the Biosphere II as opposed to Biosphere I…. the earth.
I knew some of the biologists and environmentalists who were working on the project and it was a popular project around the Whole Earth Catalog crowd. The idea that we could simulate the earth and practice future off-planet living was appealing to many.
I, as the initial funder of the project to build space colonies between the earth and the moon at Lagrange points, had a stake in the issue. I paid attention.
I knew two things before the project started which were completely unknown to my optimistic fellow Whole Earth people. And the Biospherians.
One, we know far too little about the Earth's biosphere and inter-coordinated functions to think that we could accurately simulate them. The preposterous global warming equations that have since made such terribly wrong predictions, confirms my view.
Number two, human beings cannot live in a small environment without several important elements. One is a government enforced hierarchy, which is why submarines work. The other is specialized psychological training along with unique personnel selection in order to have a group of people who can cooperate.
Neither of these issues were built into Biosphere II. I predicted ‘mud’ on both scales.
That is precisely what happened after a group of 8 people entered the environment for two years. The oxygen level fell dramatically and had to be supplemented. The amount of food available left most people hungry all the time. Many of the species that were important for survival were destroyed by ants and cockroaches. I would call the environmental test outcome: ‘mud’.
The group of people came out of the environment with a strong hate for each other and deeply divided into two hostile groups. Again I would call that ‘mud’.
To my knowledge inadequate study has been done on either issue. The project was a waste of money.
The headline summary of Biosphere II should have read: ‘We don't know much about our environment and how it work’s. ‘The conditions under which people can cooperate in a confined space for two years are very limited.’
In the real Biosphere I, we have the commercial world. So it doesn't matter to much how people can cooperate. Commerce allows for much diversity among peope and allows a wide range of people to be able to function together.