European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                8 people embark on 2-year Experiment continued from Page 14 about the possibility of going stir crazy during the confinement said last year Quot my response is in be spent quite a lot of time at sea. No one s Ever done this before no one s Ever built or lived in or managed a total closed system and one on this  Charles f Hutchison of the University of Arizona s office of arid land studies Calls the project Quot a scientific  he told the new York times that his main criticism was Quot their top Down approach to the science in which you take a Bunch of components throw them All together shake them up and Hope everything will work earlier this year an article in the Village voice contended that the primary group behind the development was headed by Quot guru Quot John Allen svs research and development director and was nothing More than a onetime commune cult of Quot recycled theater performers Quot intent on creating a Mars Colony. It also contended that consulting institutions such As the University of Arizona the smithsonian institution and Yale University had compromised themselves by taking Bass Money Allen declined a request by the associated press for comment but in other interviews has denied a cult or survivalist Agenda was driving the project. Consultant Robert j. Frye a systems biologist at the University of arizonans environmental research Laboratory said he was disturbed by Quot the implication that bad science has gone on or that i As a consultant to this am a whore to Jbv Quot. Michael a Cusanovich vice president for research at the University of Arizona said he has been impressed with the Quality of engineering work done on biosphere 2 also impressive he said is the Caliper of scientific consultants which include his schools environmental research Laboratory a which accepted a $5 million contract. London s Kew gardens and Hewlett Packard Quot in All probability those elements will Lead to some useful Quot findings he said. Quot the real Issue would become will the whole thing work in an integrated package7 biosphere 2 s designers envision the Sale of technologies for everything from biological a Stu to Oatmeal plants to Home and office air cleaning soil reactors to super clean chemical analysis labs. Cusanovich noted that on a non scientific level the project clearly has captured the Public s imagination Quot if this ultimately can be used to make people More responsible environmentally if that a a spinoff that s not a bad one either Quot he said. Biosphere 2 s main compound will include a Well appointed four Story habitat consisting of two level living quarters labs an office a teleconference Center workshops a clinic a Library recreational and exercise facilities and a spacious Central Kitchen with natural Gas powered generators providing electricity from outside the Complex a two Tomed and sealed Quot lungs Quot encompassing nearly readers action Lin desert storm Impact on school questioned my Hull find was scheduled to go to inc of Basic no course at fort Lee a. On Jan t 1991 he was sent to saudi Arabia dec. 10, 1990, and resumed May 10 he has been trying to find out his new school Date for inc of since his arrival and still does t know it last week he was told he has to wait for a message from a department of the army and his show Date Lor inc of would be 120 Days from then. Is this the priority he is supposed to have7 All this time of being left completely in the dark to then Recei a a rather vague time Frame we have had to put plans on hold not Only Tor tips but also career plans there Are certain assignments Drill instructor Tor on for which one has to have been to b Page 16 a the stars and stripes another acre Are connected to the biosphere by tunnels designed to accommodate daily changes in air volume refrigerated coils Over the 85-foot-High rain Forest will condense humid air contributing to the recycling of drinking water. Vents will Force air up through the agricultural biome s soil filtering it of impurities while microbes in water tanks will convert human and animal wastes into Plant nutrients the water will be cleansed and used for irrigation. Thousands of computerized sensors will Monitor the separate sections for such things As Carbon dioxide or Trace gases in the atmosphere soil microbes Ocean and Marsh salinity and even Light. Health concerns Center on heightened Carbon dioxide and toxicity Levels in the closed system and other threats include infection and injuries from the equipment. The personal lives of the eco pioneers a All of whom Are single and free to develop whatever relationships they want within the biosphere a Are High on the minds of tourists a documentarian working at the Complex said. Among the most asked questions what happens if somebody Dies has a baby or gets lonely the Crew will reply to such questions on an interactive video replay system in a visitors Center and theater Complex now on the drawing Board other attractions slated include close up viewing of the plants and animals. During the summer heat about 600 people a Day toured the biosphere exterior at $9.95 per adult. More Are expected the developers say possibly 250,000 to 500,000 a year. Augustine acknowledged that problems could crop up after a month or so that would necessitate the biospheric is coming out temporarily before returning for a solid two years. Quot i think the whole aspect of closing it up having the system All come into some equilibrium and adjustment. Without surprises would be very unusual Quot she said. But sufficient research has been done she said Quot to give us very Good Assurance that we re going to have a successful two year bad science or innovation from wire reports the idea of Locking eight people into a giant terrarium for two years with 3,800 varieties of plants animals and insects certainly is not a traditional scientific approach. David Stumpf a former University of Arizona research associate Calls it naive a and bad science a to assume that the Plant animal mix inside biosphere 2 will come into equilibrium just because nature works outside. University of Texas professor Basset Maguire says biosphere 2 is attempting to achieve too much too soon and University of Arizona arid lands specialist Charles Hutchison has said the project is More fun than science also criticizing its failure to work up in incremental Steps but Michael a. Cusanovich University of Arizona vice president for research Points to Thomas Edison s Early work. Just because most scientists  attempt something with the scope and complexity of biosphere 2 without Quot a lot of intermediate stages Quot Cusanovich says it does t mean Quot that that s the Only Way to make breakthroughs and move  Cusanovich said that while he probably would t advocate using tax dollars on such a proposal without major preliminary data and study Quot they did no to use taxpayers Money and it s a free  University of Arizona biologist ecologist Robert j. Frye who served As a consultant to the project designed the soil bed reactors intended to cleanse the air inside biosphere. He predicted the most important things Likely to evolve from the project will be new technologies such As biosphere 2 s window sealing the ability to track nutrients in a closed system and the sustainability of waste recycling. Some individual components such As the soil bed reactor technology could prove important and useful soon in Homes businesses or offices Frye said. The most commonly cited potential problem is an insufficiency of Carbon dioxide because there Are far More plants than animals in the Structure. In a perfectly balanced system the plants take up Carbon dioxide produced by animals and produce oxygen. The animals take up oxygen produced by the plants and give off Carbon dioxide. If there Are not enough animals the plants growth will be stunted or they will die. Most believe that Many of the plants and perhaps even some of the animals in biosphere 2 will die off during the two year closure. The question is How Many bios Herian Linda Leigh who has been in charge of its Flora estimates that perhaps 20 percent of the 4,000 species will die out. At the opposite extreme ecologist Howard t. Odum predicts that Only 20 percent of the species will survive. Coc to put in for them what is the priority those who were kept from going to inc of due to desert storm Are supposed to receive7 Stephanie Clay Berline master sgt. Michael j. Brown noncommissioned officer in charge in the office of the director for plans training and mobilization Berlin military Community replies i appreciate the Opportunity to explain the army s priority system for reallocating inc of class dates since it s possible other soldiers who deployed in support of operations in the persian Gulf have similar questions class dates Are reallocated in the following priority 1. Staff sergeants by Date of rank 2. Sergeants promotable by Points and 3 sergeants i sympathize with sgt Clay s dilemma deployments to the Gulf Stop loss and Force reductions have All caused a certain amount of turmoil for Many soldiers. Sgt. Clay is right to pursue his Case since his wife s letter indicates that he a some definite career plans. This office requested a new Clas Date for sgt. Clay on May 30 unfortunately he has not yet been rescheduled he will be notified of his new class Date a soon As it is confirmed to write us readers action line is the readers a court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Wednesday september 25, 1991