In 1986, in order to expand the new living space for human beings, the American Bass invested 200 million US dollars to start the construction of the world-renowned "Biosphere 2" in the desert area of the state of Arizona, U.S.A. On September 26th, 1991, eight volunteers from all over the world took part in the experimental program of Biosphere 2, and the project was completed in the desert area of the state of Arizona. On September 26, 1991, eight volunteers from around the world joined the Biosphere 2 experimental program. The program was designed to conduct ecological and environmental research in a confined environment, to help humans understand how the Earth works, and to study whether humans are fit to live under conditions that mimic those of the Earth's ecosystem.
Biosphere 2 covers an area of about 1.27 hectares and has a volume capacity of more than 200,000 cubic meters. It is mainly a simulated ecological system constructed by glass curtains and steel frames, including five types of wilderness biotopes such as tropical rainforests, savannahs, swamps, oceans (including coral reef banks), and deserts, as well as three types of man-made areas, such as human farmland, miniature cities, and technosphere. Biosphere 2 is a closed system that contains approximately the atmosphere (170,000 cubic meters), fresh water (1,500 cubic meters), brackish water (3,800 cubic meters), soil (17,000 cubic meters), living organisms (3,800 to 4,000 species), and human beings (four males and four females), among other important components. The interior design of the microcity in Biosphere 2 is configured with: laboratories, medical facilities, kitchens, sleeping rooms, dining rooms, gymnasiums, lavatory facilities, as well as libraries and observation rooms. The greenhouse-type laboratories are powered by solar energy and externally supplied electricity. It has the function of regulating the heat rise or cold contraction of air in the closed ecological laboratory.
Originally, the Biosphere 2 experiment was designed to study whether humans and a wide variety of organisms (plants and animals) could survive healthily and happily in a sealed and isolated man-made system that recycles and reuses air, water, and nutrients within the system. During the 1991-1993 experiments, researchers found that the ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Biosphere 2 could not be balanced on its own; that the concrete buildings in Biosphere 2 affected the normal carbon cycle; and that most of the plants and animals were unable to grow or reproduce normally, and their extinction rate was faster than expected. After extensive discussions, it was confirmed that the "Biosphere 2" experiment had failed to achieve the original designers' intended goals, which proved that under known scientific and technological conditions, it would be difficult for human beings to survive forever without the Earth. At the same time, it proves that the Earth is still the only living system that mankind can rely on and trust.
In 1996, BAS handed over Biosphere 2 to Columbia University in the United States to manage and plan for its future as a base for research and teaching in ecology and environmental change. Columbia University has begun to integrate the existing ecosystem simulation experiments and new research programs in Biosphere 2 and opened it to the outside world as a research and learning center, in order to explore the interaction between our human lives and the environment. Although the goals of the Biosphere 2 program were not achieved, it has taught us a good lesson: nature is not as simple as we think, and every breeze in the complex and huge system may be indispensable to life; humans are not omnipotent, and we need to rely on the Earth to survive; humans need to know how to adapt to nature, and we need to cherish all of nature in order to develop sustainably with all things on Earth.