Money makes the world go 'round. It's a terrible cliche, but it's an even more terrible reality. And science isn't immune. I've been to Biosphere 2 a couple times, having lived in Tucson off and on for four years. I attended an ethics conference there and took the tour with my family during another visit. It's a pretty neat place. Part of its lure is the offbeat history it has (including using actors who thought they could act well enough to become scientists - can't find a link for that story, though). For a great discussion of the biggest problem with Biosphere 2 as a self-contained ecosystem, check out this link.
I've always found Biosphere 2 fascinating. I did some kind of report on it back in seventh or eighth grade (just before or just after the eight "scientists" sealed themselves in). It's got amazing potential for just about any scientific project that has even the slightest biological implication. To think that this quirky yet fasinating place might be leveled and redeveloped is just horrifying. Although, I can't imagine anyone thinking they could turn a profit from it as anything but the Biosphere. There's nothing out there. It's not like Wal-Mart's just dying to get their hands on that property. Oracle is far enough north of Tucson and east of the interstate between Tucson and Phoenix that it's really not going to be beneficial to make the sight anything commercial. I hope some other university (perhaps ASU or UofA??) can snatch up the property. It would be a shame to see such an amazing scientific lab shut down. Biosphere 2 will never be used to study the potential of space colonies as a whole, but it could be used to learn so much more about ecosystems so we go into space colonization armed with that knowledge. Hell, so we just go into developing land here on Earth armed with that knowledge. I really hope someone saves Biosphere 2.
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