Jane Poynter: Life in Biosphere 2

Summary

The speaker shares their unique experience living in Biosphere 2, a miniature, sealed world designed to mimic Earth's ecosystem. They compare the challenges of sustaining life in this controlled environment to the ease of living in Biosphere 1 (Earth). The project aimed to understand life's adaptability for space colonization and taught valuable lessons about Earth's ecosystems. Despite facing issues like oxygen loss, they discovered the cause and fixed it, proving the concept's potential. The talk concludes with a call to embrace a biophilic society, nurturing life, starting with small, personal actions.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Biosphere 1 refers to Earth, while Biosphere 2 was a man-made, sealed environment where the speaker lived for two years.
• 🍕 It took the speaker four months to make a pizza in Biosphere 2, compared to two minutes in the outside world, illustrating the differences in resource availability.
• 🏞️ Biosphere 2 contained various ecosystems like a rainforest, desert, savanna, and a coral reef, along with a half-acre farm to grow food.
• 🔄 The experiment showed the interconnectedness of living organisms and their environment, with the speaker literally becoming a part of the ecosystem by breathing and consuming the food they grew.
• 🌬️ A major issue in Biosphere 2 was the loss of oxygen, which dropped from 21% to 14.2%, causing physical problems like sleep apnea and exhaustion.
• 🔬 The loss of oxygen was traced to the breakdown of carbon in the soil, which absorbed oxygen and released carbon dioxide, showing the complexities of maintaining a man-made biosphere.
• 🧪 Despite the oxygen problem, the experiment was considered a success in proving the concept of a functioning, closed biosphere.
• 🌱 After leaving Biosphere 2, the speaker found it strange to reconnect with the outside world, especially in terms of how food is sourced and the smells people carry.
• 🚀 The speaker's work in developing small, sealed ecosystems led to experiments on the Mir Space Station and the International Space Station, with plans to grow plants on the Moon.
• 🧘 The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding our connection to the Earth's biosphere, stating that even our breath connects us to past and future generations.

Q & A

What are the two biospheres mentioned in the script?

The two biospheres mentioned are Biosphere 1, which refers to the Earth's ecosystem that we all live in, and Biosphere 2, a miniature, sealed world designed to replicate Earth's environment.

How long did it take to make a pizza in Biosphere 2 compared to Biosphere 1?

It took four months to make a pizza in Biosphere 2, which involved harvesting wheat and milking goats, while in Biosphere 1, it takes about two minutes with the convenience of pizza delivery.

What was the size and composition of Biosphere 2?

Biosphere 2 was a three-acre, entirely sealed miniature world that included a miniature rainforest, a private beach with a coral reef, a savanna, a marsh, a desert, and a half-acre farm.

What were the basic principles behind the design of Biosphere 2?

Biosphere 2 was designed to be materially closed, meaning nothing went in or out, and energetically open, similar to Earth, to support life within it.

What was the purpose of the Test Module in the context of Biosphere 2?

The Test Module was a smaller chamber that served as a precursor to Biosphere 2, used to test the feasibility of sustaining life in a sealed environment.

Why was there concern for John Allen's health when he entered the Test Module?

There was concern that John Allen might succumb to toxins or his lungs could be choked by bacteria or fungus due to the sealed environment with plants, animals, and bacteria.

What was the unexpected issue with oxygen levels in Biosphere 2?

The oxygen levels in Biosphere 2 were decreasing faster than the CO2 levels were increasing, which was unexpected as they were supposed to fluctuate together, leading to a significant drop in oxygen levels.

How did the inhabitants of Biosphere 2 address the decreasing oxygen levels?

They attempted to sequester carbon by growing plants, storing their biomass in the basement, reducing irrigation, and stopping tilling to prevent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.

What was discovered as the cause of the oxygen loss in Biosphere 2?

The cause was too much carbon in the soil in the form of compost, which broke down, took oxygen from the air, and released CO2, eventually getting absorbed into the concrete.

How did living in Biosphere 2 affect the speaker's perception of the outside world upon re-entry?

Upon exiting Biosphere 2, the speaker found the outside world, including people, to have a strong, unpleasant smell due to the use of perfumes and chemicals, which were absent in Biosphere 2.

What projects did the speaker work on after leaving Biosphere 2?

After leaving Biosphere 2, the speaker started Paragon Space Development Corporation and worked on projects to grow plants in space, including on the Mir Space Station, the shuttle, and the International Space Station. They also worked on a system to grow plants on the Moon and modeled a system for growing plants on Mars.

What transformation is the speaker advocating for in relation to how humans interact with the environment?

The speaker is advocating for a transformation from a biocidal species to a biophilic society, where humans learn to nurture life and understand our impact on the environment, starting with small, individual actions.