After years of planning, development and construction, the Grand Opening (actually it was the hermetically-sealing or “closing”) of Biosphere II was much celebrated. This experiment in how to deliberately establish a self-sustained environment of an ecosystem to support human life separate from the whims of nature was a bold step towards setting up human colonies on distant planets if such travel were ever undertaken.
Details about ecosystems that tracked water, plants, insects, light, temperature, soil conditions, and interdependencies were accommodated. Once sealed off from the “real world” Biosphere II was then run as a test for how well life cycles could self-perpetuate. It was the ultimate recycling experiment.
Keeping the balance of CO2 and O2 proved challenging, as the consumption of oxygen by plants and animals (humans included) was more variable in day/night cycles that had to be matched to the photosynthesis only operating during the day.
A very surprising finding was the inability of the fruit trees to yield fruit. Every variable was tested from soil pH, humidity, insect pollination, light wavelengths, etc. The trees were apparently healthy and flowering, but no fruit set. After much head-scratching, it was discovered that in the absence of wind (of course a sealed chamber had no air turbulence) the branches and stems of the trees did not develop adequate strength to support the setting of pollinated blossoms and so the trees could not yield fruit.
Without the challenge of disturbance in the environment, there was no fruit.
If the beauty of human fruitfulness can be measured by compassion, creativity, cooperativity, caring, sharing, humor, mutual support, then the headwinds of pandemics, people migrations, climate fluctuations and other challenges are surely to continue to show our capacity for reaching our full potential – our fruitfulness.
Let’s not miss the opportunity to grow strong and to be fruitful as a direct consequence of the crisis du jour.
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Loss of Smell, Taste May Be Reliable Predictor of COVID-19: Study
(My back patio has several gardenia plants, which at this time of year is my morning test of olfaction).
