The Biosphere 2 Now

Since the missions, a lot has changed in The Biosphere now that it is open to research and tourists. I never realized that the handrails throughout the biomes were not there in the beginning. It's one of those things that is fairly obvious once you think back on it but I never thought about it. I was also surprised to find out that the Biospherians actually had livestock with them in what is now an employee's area. There they had chickens, goats, and pigs for eggs, milk, and the occasional protein. In the agricultural area, in what is now known as LEO (Landscape Evolution Observatory), they also raised tilapia for additional protein. Most of their protein, though, came from various nuts. Next to the mangroves, there was a fresh water marsh that is no longer there as well.

While at The Biosphere last week, I did some more prying into how the inhabitants lived and was even allowed to go up to the library. The room that tourists go into before their tour to watch the video was once the recreational area/ gym. Their private rooms were two stories as I think I mentioned in my last post. The living area with the couches and televisions were on the first floor and above that, going up the spiral staircase, was the bedrooms. The libary is the tallest building in all of the human habitat. By the time I got to the top, I was breathing heavily and had to sit down for a couple minutes (I am also not in the best shape). I couldn't bring my phone for pictures because Ali (one of the UofA interns who I'm teaming up with to do my experiment) was listening to my Disney station on Pandora and I would never deprive someone of Disney. The library is dome shaped with eight bookshelves along the walls and a triangular window between each one. There are about four chairs and two couches as well. As a sort of side note, I found it interesting how all of the original carpeting throughout the human habitat is a deep royal purple and yet the library has soothing light blue walls and cream colored carpets. It clashes with the purple stairs yet is really nice regardless. I find it funny that the Biospherians did not spend much time in the library due to the fact that it was so high up. Low-calorie diets and lack of oxygen made it too taxing to walk up all those stairs. It's too bad, though, I found a hawk on chilling out on top of the roof and he kept me company as I sat down to catch my breath. Had the inhabitants come up more often, they, too, could have had hawk buddies.