Why did the United States launch Biosphere 2?

Accumulate energy.

The famous American "Biosphere 2" experiment was used to test whether humans can survive on Mars. From the beginning of the experiment to now, it has lasted for 10 years and experienced many failures. This reflects from the side that the earth is still the only known planet suitable for human habitation, and how important it is to protect the environment.

If you reflect on the process of this experiment, you will find the following problems:

It is not easy to live in a round house... 10 years ago, in Sol, Arizona, USA The Nolan Desert Museum has built a transparent building with a dome. Four pairs of male and female scientific researchers came inside to prepare to stay for two years. Here, they

In the four years before they entered the dome, the relevant personnel had arranged rainforests, deserts, grasslands, oceans, and farmland in the dome. , another miniature world was created. Many scientists from Columbia University are providing technical support for this experimental project in this area.

The scientific researchers were very excited when they first entered the dome house. They called themselves "biological pilots". But soon they

discovered that something was wrong. Starting from September 1991, the "ecological environment" in the dome began to deteriorate, and the oxygen content dropped so fast that the health of the scientific researchers was seriously challenged, and they had to ask to open the "house< /p>

Top" in order to obtain oxygen supplies from the "Earth".

The two-year experiment ended in failure after a series of technical failures and fierce arguments between the "biological pilots"

Many people blame the failure on the lack of basic scientific knowledge of the "biological pilot" and the billionaire sponsor of this experiment.

Eadweard Bass.

The importance of species balance... There are originally appropriate numbers of ants and bees in the dome house. But after a while

the number of ants grew wildly and became a nuisance. But all the bees died, and the "biological pilot" had to manually pollinate the plants and flowers. This makes people realize how important biodiversity and species balance are to the earth.

Let’s do it again... This failed experimental project caused widespread controversy in society, and the prestige of the scientific research institutions engaged in this experiment

was greatly affected. In March 1994, seven "biological pilots" entered the dome again to conduct a second experiment. This effort failed again one and a half years later. Are dome houses still useful? The public

once again expressed doubts.

To develop experiments, must we engage in "tertiary industries"? ....In 1996, the experimental project had a new person in charge - Charles Barry Osmond. At the same time, Columbia University strengthened its research on the experiment. The content of the experiment has been expanded. Starting from 2000, digital camera technology was used to record the growth of leaves every second,

to obtain a composite image of the plant to identify the plant. and growth process. The experiment also adds student experiment content.

The experiment will continue for another 10 years (Bath had requested 100 years) to allow sufficient time to observe the growth patterns of wild

animals and plants in the dome.

Currently, the dome house has become a scenic spot in the Arizona desert, with more than

more than 180,000 people visiting it every year. For $13, visitors can visit various facilities outside the dome. If you spend an additional

$10, you can enter the dome.

Biosphere 2 is a lesson for the media to list four stupid events

Although human civilization is only five thousand years old, it has completely covered the huge earth. Traces of industrial and agricultural cooperation can be found in every corner. It should be said that most of these intellectual achievements have improved social welfare and made humans as a species more powerful and happy than ever before. However, some of these "achievements" are actually clever tricks on the natural environment.

"Youth Reference" published an article by Su Yang from the Development Research Center of the State Council of China: Several things that humans have done to defeat others.

The article believes that since entering industrial society, due to human beings' clever transformation of nature, large-scale natural disasters have finally resulted in large-scale natural disasters in a short period of time. The article lists the following four things that "smash one's feet with bricks".

The article points out: Human beings should maintain awe of nature. It is too early for humans who are less than 3 million years old to dictate to the 4.5 billion-year-old Earth. Human beings must avoid being smart about the natural environment. Otherwise, people will probably not have another five thousand years of civilization.

The cleverness of agriculture: the black and white storm

Since the beginning of agricultural civilization, humans have vigorously opened up wasteland and cultivated land to increase food output. But looking back at history, one phenomenon is obvious: the more developed a civilization is, the more complete its decline will be. From the Mesopotamia of Iraq to the Yellow River Basin, due to large-scale and uncontrolled human development, the ecological environment has been devastatingly damaged, and civilization has been forced to become a foreign land. Since entering the industrial society, due to the "sophisticated" methods of human beings to transform nature, large-scale natural disasters have finally resulted in large-scale natural disasters in a short period of time.

The most influential of these disasters was the "Black and White Twin Storms" that occurred in the two major countries, the United States and the Soviet Union.

In the 19th century, the United States encouraged immigrants to open up wasteland in the semi-arid western prairie, believing that this was a smart move to both develop the west and provide jobs. From 1860 to 1890, 900,000 square kilometers of virgin land were cultivated. Unexpectedly, over-cultivation and grazing caused large-scale desertification. In the 1930s, sandstorms gradually became a climate. They broke out 14 times in 1932 and 38 times in 1933. In the spring of 1934, they finally developed into a disastrous sandstorm, sweeping across the central and western plains. The national wheat production was reduced by 1/3. In 1935, the black storm that shocked the world came. The westerly wind carried a large amount of black soil on the surface of the newly cultivated land and "grew" into a "Black Dragon" that is 2,400 kilometers long from east to west, 1,440 kilometers wide from north to south, and about 3 kilometers high. " swept across 2/3 of the United States in three days, sending 300 million tons of fertile topsoil into the Atlantic Ocean. Wherever the black storm passed, farmland, wells, roads were destroyed, streams and rivers dried up, and 160,000 farmers fled the western region. U.S. agriculture suffered heavy losses that year, with grain production reduced by more than half. Afterwards, the United States had to formulate a special "Agricultural Recovery Plan", implement no-till methods, establish the National Resources Guard, and implement one of the world's four major afforestation projects - the "Roosevelt Ecological Project", planting a wide strip of land along the 100th parallel The 100-mile protective forest belt across the United States restored the natural environment of this area and prevented the black storm from continuing to wreak havoc.

However, the former Soviet Union did not accept the lessons of the United States. Starting in 1954, in order to "make wasteland serve socialism", semi-arid grasslands in Kazakhstan, the Urals and other places were reclaimed within 10 years. About 600,000 square kilometers of land once increased the former Soviet Union's annual grain output by two-thirds. However, the destruction of vegetation and topsoil structure was caused by two large-scale black storms in March and April 1960. 200,000 square kilometers of farmland in Kazakhstan’s new reclamation areas alone were destroyed. The farming system in the new reclamation areas was almost paralyzed, even in neighboring countries. Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia were also covered in dust. What was wider than the black storm, lasted longer, and was flooded with water, was the white storm that occurred at the same time and continues to this day. The former Soviet Union built the Karakum Canal in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan, which can divert water from the Amu Darya River, the third largest lake in Asia and the main water source of the Aral Sea, to irrigate 100,000 square kilometers of farmland and pasture every year. This "creative re-creation of nature" has brought about a series of ecological and environmental problems: the interception of the Amu Darya River water has caused a sharp drop in the Aral Sea level in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River. In 30 years, the lake shoreline has retreated 10 to 20 kilometers, and the Aral Sea bottom The salt and alkali are exposed, and the surrounding areas are severely desertified. "White storms" (storms containing salt and dust) follow one after another, which not only desertifies the environment near the Aral Sea, but also permanently destroys 60% of the newly cultivated areas, making it a The restricted area of ??life has led to irreversible ecological disaster.

Events such as the "Black and White Double Storm" that the environment takes revenge on humans show that only when nature invites disasters as spokespersons can people believe in the majesty of nature.

Cleverness in large-scale projects: causing obstacles

The progress of human civilization is more reflected in large-scale projects, so smartness in engineering has a greater impact. Just like when someone lifts a stone to start construction, if the stone is not placed properly, it will fall on his own feet. The most controversial dam project in contemporary times-the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt is an example.

The Aswan High Dam is a high dam across the Nile River. It was built in 1970 at a cost of approximately US$1.5 billion.

The volume of the dam is 17 times that of the largest Pyramid of Khufu, and it is one of the seven largest dams in the world. According to the original intention, the reservoir formed after the high dam intercepts the river can be used for flood control, irrigation, power generation, shipping and fish farming. It is a comprehensive utilization project. However, more than 30 years after its completion, the role and impact of the Aswan High Dam have aroused fierce controversy among experts from all over the world. On the one hand, it has produced greater benefits in flood storage, irrigation, power generation, shipping and breeding; but on the other hand, the Aswan Dam has a more profound impact on the ecological environment. Historically, the annual flooding of the Nile River has brought out silt, providing rich natural fertilizers for the land along the coast. After the Aswan Dam was built, these fertile silts were trapped in the reservoir, which also caused the degradation of the estuary fishing grounds and a significant decrease in fishery catches.

More than 30 years later, the positive benefits of the dam have continued to decrease, and the disadvantages that were thought to be overcome when the decision was made have gradually turned into disasters. One of the main reasons for this situation is that some people are eager for quick success and want to use giant projects to build a reputation for themselves; some people follow the trend and dare not speak out even though they know that it violates scientific laws. As a result, the cleverness of laymen has attracted the revenge of the natural environment, and the unbreakable dam has become There is always "blockage" in the hearts of Egyptians. Our country is currently implementing construction projects that have a major impact on the regional ecological environment, such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the West-to-East Gas Pipeline Project, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and the Three Gorges Project. Therefore, we should be cautious during planning and construction.

The cleverness of ecological construction: the collapse of the "Great Green Wall"

Even if it is an ecological construction project implemented for ecological restoration, if it does not follow the laws of nature, good intentions will not be rewarded. This is particularly evident in the world's four major afforestation projects.

The grassland areas in the European part of the former Soviet Union were prone to frequent natural disasters due to over-cultivation and deforestation. At that time, Stalin proposed the "Stalin Plan to Transform Nature", which was larger than the United States, and advocated planting trees in grassland areas. At the same time, we will continue to develop irrigated agriculture. From 1949 to 1953, the project built nearly 30,000 square kilometers of shelterbelts, but by the end of the 1960s, only 2% of the shelterbelt area had been preserved.

Algeria’s “Green Dam Project” is also a world-class afforestation project. In order to prevent the continuous northward invasion of the Sahara Desert, Algeria in North Africa began planting pine trees on a large scale along the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in 1975. The project extends to neighboring Morocco and Tunisia, stretching 1,500 kilometers. Theoretically, the project could expand Algeria's forest area by 10% per year. However, due to the failure to understand the local water resources conditions and environmental carrying capacity, blindly using intensive methods and engaging in high-intensity ecological construction with alien species, the ecological construction turned into an ecological disaster. The desert is still expanding northward. Now the country More forest land is lost every year than is reforested.

China also has profound lessons in this regard. The "Three North Shelter Forest" was once known as China's "Great Green Wall". For more than 20 years, China has spent tens of billions of dollars to "build the city." Although some results have been considerable, the capital Beijing still has to "face" sandstorms every year. Moreover, the protective forest that stretches for thousands of miles is now a collapsed "Great Green Wall." This is because science was not taken into account when afforestation was started, so the "Yang family generals" in the north planted poplar trees everywhere. Not only did the poplar trees in many places grow into half-dead "little old men", but also because pure forests were generally planted, when pests occurred , one fell down a large area, and the small beetles alone destroyed the fruits of Ningxia's 20 years of construction - billions of poplar trees.

The world’s four major afforestation projects are all carried out in degraded grassland areas. Why is only the Roosevelt Project successful? The root cause is precisely because the way to combat desertification in the United States is not just to plant trees. While the Roosevelt Project was being carried out, the Soil Conservation Service was established in the United States to encourage states to adopt soil conservation measures. Measures such as no-till, fallow, and grain and grass rotation were widely promoted. At the same time, millions of hectares of drought-prone farmland have been converted into pasture. Another important factor that is easily overlooked is that during the years when the Black Storm raged, hundreds of thousands of residents on newly cultivated land moved their families to the west coast, and tens of millions of hectares of farmland were given the opportunity to naturally return farmland to grassland. In the Three Northern Regions of the Soviet Union, North Africa and China, people one-sidedly interpreted the American experience as building a farmland shelterbelt network. Accompanying the afforestation project is not the return of farmland to grassland, but the further expansion of cultivated area and further competition for production water for ecological water. The result is that the ecological environment has improved in parts and deteriorated overall.

The failed "Biosphere 2" experiment

The successive failures of world-class afforestation projects show that active ecological construction is often difficult. This is due to the complexity of nature. There is a lesson here. But for verification, this is the Biosphere 2 experiment. In 1991, American scientists conducted a hugely expensive and unprecedented "Biosphere 2" experiment. "Biosphere 2" is a huge closed ecosystem located in Arizona, USA, about the size of two football fields. From the outside, it looks like a space station built on the moon in science fiction movies. According to the design, this closed ecosystem simulates the natural ecosystem as much as possible, including soil, water, air, animals and plants, and even forests, lakes, rivers and oceans. In 1991, eight people were sent into Biosphere 2. They were originally expected to be isolated from the world for two years and survive by eating the food they produced, breathing the oxygen released by plants, and drinking water naturally purified by the ecosystem. But 18 months later, the "Biosphere 2" system was seriously out of balance: the oxygen concentration dropped from 21% to 14%, which was not enough to sustain the researcher's life. Injecting oxygen to remedy the situation was of no avail; the original 25 species of small animals, 19 Species become extinct; all the insects that carry pollen for plants die, and plants cannot reproduce. Subsequent research found that bacteria consumed a large amount of oxygen in the process of decomposing a large amount of organic matter in the soil; and the carbon dioxide released by the bacteria was absorbed by the concrete walls of "Biosphere 2" through chemical reactions, breaking the cycle. The disastrous failure of the "Biosphere 2" project proves that God has his own way, and in the face of nature, humans with little talent and little knowledge often think they are smart