{"id":35839,"date":"2018-10-01T16:42:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T16:42:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-06-17T10:05:32","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T10:05:32","slug":"10839-how-a-kickass-daring-project-created-a-mini-earth-2","status":"publish","type":"photo_story","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/10839-how-a-kickass-daring-project-created-a-mini-earth-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How a \u2018kickass daring\u2019 project created a mini-earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Twenty-five years ago eight people emerged from a network of manmade glass domes sealed off from the outside world. They had spent two years inside Biosphere 2, an ambitious project in the US state of Arizona to build a miniature version of the earth, and to study its living systems and how humans interacted with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The artificial biosphere contained a range of wilderness habitats filled with plants and animals. Its self-enclosed set of ecosystems included a miniature savannah, fog desert, mangrove marsh, rainforest, and an ocean with a coral reef, as well as farms, laboratories and workshops for its human residents to work, study and live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The experiment received worldwide attention. It contributed to scientific understanding of the effects of climate change and helped the development of long-term life support systems for space travel. It is still the largest and longest closed biospheric experiment to have taken place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But many of the big environmental problems it tried to highlight remain unresolved. In a new book called&nbsp;<em>Pushing Our Limits<\/em>, Dr Mark Nelson, one of Biosphere 2\u2019s eight residents between 1991-1993, looks back at the project\u2019s challenges and achievements, and asks what lessons it can teach today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_2.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_2-1024x672.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_2.jpg 1300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 1300px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">Participants in the\u00a0first biosphere\u00a0closure experiment from\u00a01991-1993, with the book author Dr Mark Nelson pictured front left. (Author provided)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_2.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"1 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"853\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1300\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Building the biosphere<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Nelson was involved in the project from the start. Fresh from university at Dartmouth College, he joined the nascent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ecotechnics.edu\/\">Institute of Ecotechnics<\/a>, which aims to integrate ecology and technology so that they work together better to support life.&nbsp;The institute became involved with&nbsp;runninga project headed by itsfounding director&nbsp;and systems ecologistJohn Allen, which was&nbsp;partlyintended to explore how closed ecological systems could support and maintain human life in outer space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nelson explains that the idea developed to look at how artificial biospheres could also be used to investigate how natural ecosystems work. \u201cGiven that there is an unplanned, uncontrolled and not-looking-too-optimistic experiment on our global biosphere we wanted to make biospheric laboratories to study the fundamental processes of biospheres rather than destructively testing our global one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-pull-quote block--pull-quote block--pull-quote--no-citation\"><div class=\"block--pull-quote__wrapper\"><blockquote class=\"block--pull-quote__quote\">The word environment\u2026 emphasises that it\u2019s something outside of us<\/blockquote><cite class=\"block--pull-quote__cite\"><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The project was called Biosphere 2 for two reasons. The first was to position it as the second self-sufficient biosphere after the earth itself. The second was that it was planned as the beginning of a bigger project, to include a further series of biospheres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the world\u2019s top ecologists and most innovative engineers were involved in designing the building, which comprised a network of artificial glass domes on top of a complex technological base powering its heating, cooling and electrical systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ten years and US$200 million later it was finally built. Nelson describes it as an \u201caudacious\u201d project. \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt it was kickass daring. We had worked on other biomes but Biosphere 2 was on a much bigger scale of magnitude, capital costs, work and the team we needed to pull together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outside Biosphere 2, Nelson was its director of environmental and space applications. Inside, he was responsible for managing the wastewater recycling system, basement agriculture and fodder crops, and helping operate and research the land ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Surviving in a bubble<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Nelson\u2019s book explains how the Biosphere 2 team tackled its many challenges, including maintaining stable and liveable carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2<\/sub>) levels, farming without chemical fertilisers or pesticides and producing most of the food required by its human residents, maintaining air, soil and water quality, and dealing with sewage. CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;was a particular challenge because the small size of Biosphere 2 compared with the earth meant dangerous levels of the gas built up much more quickly than outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBiosphere 2 was an experiment above all; we wanted to see what we didn\u2019t know,\u201d says Nelson. \u201cSo one surprising thing about it was how many elements worked pretty much as expected. People thought we couldn\u2019t make a living coral reef, for example, but we did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The project eventually ran to a close, hitting&nbsp;problems such as insufficient oxygen and food for its human residents as well as the death of many animals and plants. A follow-up experiment with people living inside the domes happened in 1994 but no further biospheres have been built so far,&nbsp;with the exception of a Japanese version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere-2-Wilderness-Wing-scaled.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere-2-Wilderness-Wing-1024x381.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere-2-Wilderness-Wing-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">In the background is the long wilderness wing of Biosphere 2. In the foreground is the Biospheric Research and Development Complex, with the\u00a0Mission Control building across from the rainforest stepped pyramid.\u00a0(Author provided)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere-2-Wilderness-Wing-scaled.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"312 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"953\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Valuable research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Nelson says the project provided many important insights into how biological and atmospheric systems work. Its engineers even developed innovative technologies with commercial applications such as biofiltration, which used specially designed indoor plant containers to clean air by pumping it through the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And research continued after the human residents left, as it was taken over first by Columbia University and then the University of Arizona. \u201cBecause it was no longer a closed system, researchers from Columbia could manipulate CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;levels,\u201d says Nelson. \u201cSome of the landmark papers on the consequences of global warming and CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;enrichment in the atmosphere were studies done on the coral reef they told us we couldn\u2019t build.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, he says there is still much to learn about how our global biosphere works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the intervening 25 years Nelson has remained deeply involved in environmental research, completing a PhD in environmental engineering science, founding Wastewater Gardens International (a company that develops and promotes constructed wetlands) and now serving as chair of the Institute of Ecotechnics. He regularly publishes papers on ecosystem research and engineering, and organises sessions for the International Committee on Space Research on closed systems and space habitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has even been invited to talk to Chinese scientists about their own biospheres and research on bioregenerative life support systems aimed at space travel. \u201cIt\u2019s like ecological engineering,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt means you\u2019re using natural processes \u2013 plants for food, soils for cleaning the air and water \u2013 instead of taking packaged food and canisters of oxygen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_Farm.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_Farm-1024x668.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_Farm.jpg 2500w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2500px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">View of the Biosphere 2 farm from high in the &#8220;spaceframe&#8221;. There are planting boxes along the balcony on\u00a0the left\u00a0(Image: C\u00a0Alan Morgan)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Biosphere_2_Farm.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"6 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1631\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2500\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rethinking the environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In his book Nelson outlines the key environmental challenges faced by the world today, including climate change, air, water and land pollution, soil degradation and overuse of finite resources. He believe that too little is being done to address these problems, professing himself \u201cmore and more alarmed\u201d at the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he does have hope in younger generations. \u201cThe world has really caught up. I think if we built Biosphere 2 now we\u2019d have to expend less breath explaining why this project is important.\u201d In&nbsp;<em>Pushing Our Limits<\/em>, which won this year\u2019s Evergreen Medal for Nature Conservation, Nelson writes that his optimism comes in large part from his Biosphere 2 experience. \u201c[It] taught us every action, however small, is important. If we give up hope, we cease motivating ourselves to act for positive change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He explores the idea of how technology can be changed to support and not destroy nature. \u201cI\u2019m against the idea of \u2018techno fixes\u2019 because of the passivity it implies,\u201d he tells&nbsp;China Dialogue. \u201cBut I\u2019m a big advocate of fixing our technology so that life rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, perhaps even more important than technical advances, he says, is a change of attitude towards nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t like the word environment because it emphasises that it\u2019s something outside of us. We are part of nature both evolutionarily and metabolically. People who don\u2019t understand that they\u2019re connected to the biosphere are living in a fantasy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He says the experience of Biosphere 2 gave him a deeper connection to the world he lives in. \u201cI had made a life decision to work in environmentally beneficial projects but it was still pretty much in my head. It\u2019s fulfilling and wonderful when you actually realise that metabolically you are part of the biosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, not everyone can have the experience of living in an artificial biome, so how can this connection be reforged? \u201cI have an obligation because I was lucky enough to live in such a system to try to impart that to people. At a human level, greening cities is important. It\u2019s not that hard once you know that there is that connection to start embracing it, embodying it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_5-scaled.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_5-1024x680.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_5-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">Part of the research on carbon dioxide dynamics involved an\u00a0apparatus dubbed \u201cR2D2\u201d after the <em>Star Wars<\/em> movie robot. It measured how much CO<sub>2<\/sub> came out of the soil. It was used to study the\u00a0biomes, especially in the transitions between their inactive and active seasons, and the\u00a0farm soils after soil disturbance for planting. The data was correlated with soil moisture content, which is why in the photograph\u00a0a sample of the savannah next to R2D2\u00a0was being extracted with a soil corer\u00a0(Image: Author provided)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_5-scaled.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"6 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1699\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_6.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_6-1024x677.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_6.jpg 2473w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2473px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">A part of the Biosphere 2 main farm area showing some of the 16 cropping areas. The small trees on the right are leuceana trees for high-protein fodder. Planting beds also cover two air vents (Image: Abigail Alling)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_6.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"6 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1634\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2473\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_10.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_10-1024x676.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_10.jpg 2500w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2500px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">Sally holding a baby goat. There were five born during the two-year period\u00a0(Author provided)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_10.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"7 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1650\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2500\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere2_11_new.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere2_11_new-1024x683.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere2_11_new.jpg 1650w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 1650px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">The care and weeding of the coral reef ocean by\u00a0Gaie, who was checking\u00a0the reef and removing algae. Eleven pounds a week were removed, helping the corals retain access to the light they needed for photosynthesis\u00a0(Image: Author provided)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere2_11_new.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"1 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1101\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1650\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_8-scaled.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_8-1024x651.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_8-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">Sharing some of the stories with Oleg Gazenko and John Allen. Gazenko was the unofficial confidante and psychologist for generations of Russian cosmonauts. His opinion was that he\u2019d seen much worse conflict amongst Russian space crews! His observations indicated that the\u00a0biosphere participants had fully adapted to the\u00a0environment (Image: Marie Harding).<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Biosphere_2_8-scaled.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"9 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1629\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-story-image block--story-image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--story-image__column\"><div class=\"block--story-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Biosphere_2_1-1-scaled.jpg\" data-srcset=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Biosphere_2_1-1-1024x640.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Biosphere_2_1-1-scaled.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--story-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--story-image__caption\">The Biosphere 2 facility in southern Arizona. The white domed structure is one of two \u201clungs\u201d (expansion chambers) connected to the main structure\u00a0by air tunnels. In the distance is the Biospheric Research and Development complex where much of the initial system research,\u00a0training for participants, and raising of plants, animals and insects occurred. Biosphere 2 included\u00a030,000 tonnes of soil, 3800 species of plants and animals, and eight\u00a0humans (Image:\u00a0Gill C\u00a0Kenny).<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"http:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Biosphere_2_1-1-scaled.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"450 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1601\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br><em><a href=\"https:\/\/uapress.arizona.edu\/book\/pushing-our-limits\">Pushing Our Limits: Insights from Biosphere 2<\/a>&nbsp;is out now, published by The University of Arizona Press<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr Mark Nelson discusses the challenges of living in an artificial biosphere in\u00a0his new book Pushing Our Limits<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":61155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[761],"tags":[537],"country":[],"class_list":["post-35839","photo_story","type-photo_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","tag-ecosystems"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How a \u2018kickass daring\u2019 project created a mini-earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr Mark Nelson discusses the challenges of living in an artificial biosphere in\u00a0his new book Pushing Our Limits\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/10839-how-a-kickass-daring-project-created-a-mini-earth-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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