Читать книгу Life Under Glass - Марк Нельсон - Страница 22

As we reflect on our years in Biosphere 2, it is clear that we were changed by it. Our bodily experience of being so closely interconnected with our biosphere was both remarkable and exhilarating. We understood on a profound level that our health and that of Biosphere 2 were the same. We were intensely aware that every action, everything we did, had immediate consequences. Our bodies understood and rejoiced in our cooperation with and dependence on all life. We had our responsibilities to work cooperatively with our living systems so as to maximize their well-being. We also understood the need to keep the support technologies functioning and upgrade them to be efficient, to accomplish as much research as possible in order to learn how our biosphere functioned. We also needed to become better farmers so we could eat more and alleviate the constant hunger accompanying our super-healthy but calorie-restricted diet. But the best, most fulfilling, and extraordinary experience was knowing, at a deep cellular level, that we were metabolically and consciously part of our living biosphere.

The fact that Biosphere 2 reached a worldwide audience, bringing into clear focus what a biosphere is, has been its lasting legacy. People were gripped as they followed the real-time drama we biospherians faced in keeping our world healthy. This helped puncture the fantasy that the environment is somehow outside of us and that humans are separate from nature. It was the beginning of a desperately needed planetary awakening. We all live in a biosphere and we are part of it! We are excited and hopeful now that this awakening is spreading so rapidly and widely around the planet.

We know that being chosen for Biosphere 2’s first epic exploration was a gift for each of us. Even more importantly, we know that we are also biospherians of planet Earth, and so are you. Many have already changed their perspective and relationship to our biosphere which is overheating, burning, flooding, and whose overall health is rapidly declining. The warnings are clear: mass extinction of species, loss of much of the biomic diversity which powers our biosphere, the catastrophe-producing changes to our climate system, pollution and degradation of our soils and waters, the loss of natural regions and the beauty of Earth’s biosphere. We are facing, for the first time, the real danger of so damaging Earth that our civilization and even our survival are threatened unless we reverse this accelerating destruction. Waking up to this crisis, and rising to the challenge of being responsible Earth biospherians, will enrich our lives. The crucial first steps are to realize that our biosphere is our home and our life-support system; and then to act, and act quickly, to restore it.

Our deepest desire is that Biosphere 2’s legacy informs, inspires and offers insights into how to achieve this positive future.

– Abigail Alling, Mark Nelson, Sally Silverstone February, 2020