Mark Nelson, one of the eight biospherians who lived in Biosphere 2 for two years, talks about his experience and the lessons he learned while living under glass at a colloquium at Synergia Ranch, July 2013.
Mark Nelson holds a PhD in Philosophy, chairs the board of the Institute of Ecotechnics, runs Wastewater Gardens International, lived in Biosphere II during the two-year closed ecological systems experiment, and manages the farm at Synergia Ranch, mentoring the array of young volunteer farmers that come traveling through on a weekly basis. Mark’s ability to communicate and teach, as well as his humor, shone through as his talk ‘Living Under Glass’ brought the audience through a round of Synergetic initiatives spanning decades and climaxing through the grandiose Biosphere II experiment, an experience that then led to Mark’s work with Wastewater Gardens International.
It became clear that with all the accelerated life rhythms and instantaneous feedback of a closed ecological system, living in Biosphere II, like seeing the Earth from space, was for Nelson an ecological gnosis of sorts, through which humankind’s immersion within a web of life was an inescapable certainty, leading to its own ethical imperative.
Mark explained, “One of the big things in Biosphere II was… in a small world, there really weren’t any small actions. Everything has an impact.”
