European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 b the stars and stripes tuesday september 24, 1991science or Jules Verne gone amok 2-year Mission to test Large scale ecosystem by the los Angeles times Oracle Ariz. A at Sunrise thursday four men and four women will Don red jumpsuits share a hug with their friends in Mission control and begin their adventure. If All goes Well they will leave the Earth behind for two years. The eight arc not climbing aboard a space shuttle although their language and nomenclature Are deliberately evocative of the heyday of Nasa. But they a Especial report on biosphere 2 wednesday pages 14-16 embarking on a Mission that is in some ways bolder than the first manned space flight. As the first Light of Day Breaks across the red Sonoran desert and the nearby Santa Catalina mountains this close knit group of eight will enter a magnificent greenhouse called biosphere 2 and Seal the door behind them. For two years they will breathe recycled air drink recycled water and grow All their own food. The Only things that will enter their temporary Home will be sunlight electricity and electronic communications. They will be As isolated As if their desert Retreat were located on the Plains of Mars a the site where they dream of eventually building a new and improved Model. By learning More about the Complex interactions within biosphere 2, the researchers Hope to learn How to improve stewardship of the Earth itself or bios Here i in their parlance. They also Ope to show How to build a self sustaining Community that could be used in a spaceship or on the surface of another planet. The audacity of their venture is emphasized by a simple fact previously the largest closed ecosystems that have survived for More than a few Days were softball sized Glass globes containing Only a Small species of shrimp some algae and a few microorganisms developed at the University of Hawaii. In its half dozen years of planning and building the project has been heavily criticized As a pseudo scientific theme Park run by a group of entrepreneurs and hobbyists whose qualifications linger on the fringes of science. But even it the by soph crimans were weighted with doctoral degrees the appropriateness of their Mission would still come under severe questioning. The closest analogy to biosphere 2 might be a Jules Verne novel where men who had never even built an automobile much less an air plane constructed a spaceship and climbed aboard for the first test flight. They a Are trying to run before they Cun walk a said ecologist Basset Maguire of the University of Texas. Maguire and others argue that it would have been More sensible a and More scientific a to begin with just a Tew species of plants and animals to see How they interact with each other before going on to More complicated versions. With its 4,000 Plant animal and insect species critics argue. Biosphere 2 is far too Complex for any controlled scientific results to be obtained. Stepping into its Airlock Iron the Barren desert is almost like stepping into another world. The air is warm and humid. Although Cooling breezes flow from strategically placed vents. The five wilderness biome or ecosystems a rain Forest Ocean Marsh Savannah and desert a fill the bulk of the Structure their Lush Green foliage a Stark contrast to the dormant grass and shrubs outside. The eerie sighing of the wave making machine on the Ocean permeates every Corner of the building like an immense mechanical lung breathing life into it. The wilderness areas do the bulk of the work of biosphere 2, removing pollutants from the air. Soaking up Carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen purifying the water. They also provide a living Laboratory where biospheric is both inside and outside the greenhouse will be Able to study the interactions of various species in unprecedented detail. A a it a the Best finishing school an ecologist could Ever have Quot said Peter Warshall of the University of Arizona one of the principal scientific consultants. A it s one thing to sit in an office and think about How an ecosystem works. Its another thing to come out Here and get your hands dirty and try to make it  tried to delay birth during hostage ordeal Salt Lake City apr a first time Mother said sunday she tried to delay giving birth until after an agitated gunman carrying is pounds of dynamite gave up his siege of the hospitals maternity Wing. But christan Downey 22, delivered her baby during the 18-hour standoff saturday. Her new daughter became the ninth hostage by Richard l. Worthington who had shot dead a nurse when he stormed the women a health Center at Alta View Hospital in Sandy 15 Miles South of Salt Lake City. A she was almost born but i managed to prolong it for about four hours a Downey cradling the baby said at a news conference at another Hospital. With her was the baby a father Adam Cisneros 20, who also was held captive. Worthington 39, eventually released his hostages unharmed and surrendered late saturday. He was being held sunday. Shortly after the siege began Worthington had held a gun to Downey s stomach while ordering Cisneros to Brave police snipers and retrieve a package hidden in Bushes hidden outside the Hospital witnesses said. Cis Nero did it the package turned out to be the bomb. Worthington stormed the health Center apparently looking to kill a doctor who he said had operated on his wife two years ago without his permission. Worthington had carried a .357-caliber handgun and a Shotgun police said. He also had a a fairly sophisticated Quot 18-Pound dynamite bomb said Federal alcohol tobacco amp firearms agent John Minichino. Margie Wyler 37, a nurse with 17 years experience and 12 children of her own who helped deliver Downey a baby said the Mother to be had been ready to give birth since the ordeal began shortly after Midnight saturday. Wyler and nurse Susan Woolley helped Downey give birth on the floor of what Worthington said was a Booby trapped doctors office. Downey s 7-Pound, 1-ounce daughter Caitlin was born on blankets spread on the floor because a Gurney would t fit into the suite of offices. Wyler credited by Many As having persuaded Worthington to surrender said the Man was despondent at the end of the ordeal after talking to one of his Young children. A the got off the phone and said Margie do you want to walk out of Here a a Wyler said by Telephone interview from her Home in Salt Lake City a and i says. Yeah 1  Quot Worthington then asked a bizarre favor. A the said a i want you to Cut off my Finger and take it to Karen a his wife,1 Wyler said. �?o1 said i Don t know if 1 can Cut that Finger off and he said of hell let s just get out of  a minutes later after calling police he gave Wyler the gun. �?o1 ran and he ran the other was and the cops tackled him Quot she said. The hostages included Downey Cisneros and their child two family friends the two nurses and two other infants. Worthington was booked into the Salt Lake county jail pending charges of aggravated murder Possession of an infernal machine a the explosives a and eight counts of aggravated kidnapping. Christan Downey holds her daughter Caitlan who was born while her parents were held hostage by a , foes spar at diner Over merits of Playboy Berkeley Calif. A in a City where the 1960s have never really gone away the right to read Playboy was on the protest menu sunday with a read in at a diner where a Patron last month was told to fold it or go. About 100 people milled outside better a Ocean View diner the crowd evenly split Between fans and foes of the Magazine. Some held copies shipped by Playboy for the event and spoke of the first amendment. Others chanted Anli pornography slogans mostly unprintable. A was Long As the literature is Legal i believe a Patron has every right to read whatever he or she wishes in a Public place tree from coercion and embarrassment Quot said journalist Bill Redican a better a customer who organized the read in. Last month customer Mike Hughes a free Lance writer pulled out a Playboy at the diner and was asked by a waitress to put the Magazine away or move. The spat went Public after Hughes called san Francisco chronicle columnist Herb Caen and Redican who gave a Brief speech sunday. Hughes did not attend. The waitress who attended the county protest and asked Only to he identified As Barbara said a i think pornography is offensive and i feel pornography in my work place is sexual  court nominee loses 1 vote gains 1 Washington a sen. Alan Cranston said Clarence Thomas refusal to comment on abortion and his switch on some issues has led him to announce hell vote against confirmation of the supreme court nominee. A for a nominee to win my vote he or she must Manifest a Basic commitment to and respect for the individual tights and liberties inherent in the fabric of the Bill of rights Quot Cranston d-calil., said in a statement sunday. I he Burden of proot is on the nominee to convince the Senate Quot of that commitment. Thomas said that a the has never even discussed his views Quot on abortion with anyone Cranston said. A that statement duties  Cranston said he is a deeply disturbed by Thomas a disavowal. Of position he strongly held and publicly proclaimed upon previous  the senator gave no specifics. But it 1987, Thomas praised an essay on in it right to life. Thomas now says that was throw away line Quot in a speech seeking conservative support for civil rights. Thomas did pick up a key supports Over the weekend when sen. Dennis de Concini d-Ariz., said he would vote of his confirmation in the Senate  committee. Thomas Quot believes in judicial restrain instead of activism Quot Deconcini said St urday and a i believe he is qualified pc the Job. I will vote for