From Steve Wilson
The early days of Biosphere 2 demonstrate the folly of the more mystically inclined ecologists in seeing a purpose in evolution and geological history (27 July, p 41).
Why else, unless convinced that this planet has become the way it is in order for humans to live on it, would you build a self-contained system, intended to supply its inhabitants with sufficient oxygen, and put a “desert” in it? No wonder they started having breathing difficulties.
If we are not careful, “Biosphere 1” – Earth – may also fail to provide us with breathable air. Thinking that nature will provide for us regardless of our activities is dangerously mistaken.
London, UK
