Biosphere 2
A couple weekends back I had the pleasure & good fortune to attend the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) UnConference on science communication. Yes, the very same COPUS that co-sponsored the 2009 Zine-a-thon and of which I am a member ever since.
And where - you might ask - would you host a meeting of 65 people across the country (and one Canadian) to explore the new/great/difficult/fascinating in the world of grassroots efforts to educate the public about science? Yes, you are correct - Biosphere 2!
It turns out "Biosphere 1" is the Earth itself #2 was supposed to manage as a closed system (except for the sunlight pouring in and some supplemental electricity) with the idea that if people could live in it, then heck, maybe they could live on one on the moon (or some equally extra-terrestrial place). It was an experiment of many controversies, but then all the more better a place to consider the current concerns in science in the public sphere.
the "south lung" is the air overflow area... |
...with a huge rubber gasket to allow for changes to air volume in the structure! |