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PRAISE FOR LIFE UNDER GLASS
“Life Under Glass is a massively important and inspirational book about a great experiment that will be regarded as a cornerstone in the human quest to understand the Biosphere and ecology itself. Anyone who wants to understand what innovation actually is must read this book and whisper a hushed vote of thanks that people like this exist!”
– Sir Tim Smit, Founder, Director, The Eden Project, Cornwall
"I am delighted to see a second edition of this important book that tells the true and, frankly, honest account of the Biosphere 2 experiment. It is important that the project has been so fully recorded here in what is also a most enjoyable read."
– Sir Ghillean Prance FRS, VMH
"Life Under Glass is an honest, first-hand account of an innovative experiment. Biosphere 2 itself was visionary…the subjective experience in undertaking such an experiment makes enjoyable and inspirational reading for anyone eager to learn about exploring and discovering a new frontier where knowledge, skills, technology, and organization are key in managing self-organizing systems."
– Dr. Jose Furtado, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College, University of London
"I have known for five decades these deep, audacious, visionary nomads, walking the waves of the Heraclitus, creating Biosphere 2 to reflect our world, more real than true. Life Under Glass chronicles step-by-step a journey worthy of including in the Arabian Nights…braving the vivid unknown!"
– Godfrey Reggio, documentary film director (Koyaanisqatsi, the Qatsi trilogy)
"Life Under Glass is a thrilling account of the daily life in Biosphere 2 and first and foremost a precious testimony on a unique experience that can teach humanity how to live in a small world, act as steward and feel interconnectedness. This book contains the keys to unlock the 21st century."
– Jean-Pierre Goux, President of the Institute for Sustainable Futures, author, "The Blue Century," founder, OneHome
"Life Under Glass details an extraordinary scientific experiment, one in which a handful of idealistic citizen scientists, at considerable personal risk, volunteered to enter a closed system, Biosphere 2. The audacity of the effort brings to mind that famous quote of Teddy Roosevelt in which he hails not the critics, but those in the arena who strive valiantly, who spend themselves in a worthy cause, and who, if they fail, do so while daring greatly, their faces marred by dust and sweat and blood."
– Professor Wade Davis, BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
"Life Under Glass is a special present not only for me but for all the people who want to know, from real protagonists, the great history of Biosphere 2. The stories recounted here are extraordinary, beautiful, and dramatic at the same time. A must to read."
– Antonino Saggio, Professor of Architecture Sapienza University of Rome
" Life Under Glass tells the story of an important experiment which has contributed to the void of neglecting ecological large-scale issues. These authors are explorers in the very best sense, storytellers at the finest. Life Under Glass hence allows a truly enjoyable read, accompanied by eye-openers directly from the authors' hearts."
– Dr. Ralf Anken, Head of the Department of Gravitational Biology, German Aerospace Center, Cologne
"Life Under Glass is a great illustration of human creativity in extreme environments…the biospherian thinking process was an example of the emergence of a noosphere so that technics, or in my terms: art, science, and technology, reinforces life and life reinforces the arts, sciences, and technics in an evolutionary sustainable way."
– Roger Malina, ArtScience Research, Director ArtSciLab UTDallas, Executive Editor Leonardo Publications, MIT Press.
"I am convinced that the epoch making experiment, Biosphere 2, will remain an indispensable topic of science education in high schools, colleges, and universities. The pioneering work of the biospherians may one day gain an additional importance for managing the life support systems of "Earth Observatories."
– Professor Bernd Lötsch, General Director (Emeritus) Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria
LIFEUNDERGLASS
SECOND EDITION
LIFE UNDER GLASS
Crucial Lessons inPlanetary Stewardship fromTwo Years in Biosphere 2
Abigail Alling, Mark Nelson, and Sally Silverstone
FOREWORD BY SYLVIA A. EARLE
Foreword to the First Edition, Joseph P. Allen
I LIVE IN A GLASS HOUSE
In the symphony of the biosphere
ecosystems do their riffs
the unseen more powerful than the obvious
we measure and observe;
the creation lives, Frankensystem or Alice in Ecoland
there’s a momentum of its own
the people make decisions but hardly call every tune
species invade and conquer new lands
some vanish but their place is soon taken
this biosphere travels on its stomach
it’s eat and be eaten
we work to elbow our way in
contemplating how many lobsters, lizards,
goats and people this world can support
we’re leaner and meaner,
incredible shrinking biospherians
healthy and hungry
it gives an edge to our lives.
– Mark Nelson, 1992
© Copyright 2020 by Abigail Alling, Mark Nelson, Sally Silverstone
Foreword to Second Edition © copyright by Sylvia A. Earle
Foreword to First Edition © copyright Joseph P. Allen
Peter Menzel photos © copyright Peter Menzel
All rights reserved.
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