A few years ago scientists in Arizona tried to set up an isolated living environment that would be a self contained microcosm of life on earth, containing soil, air, water, plants and animals. They called it Biosphere 2 and it consisted of an air tight enclosure covering more than three acres. But despite having the best brains in the country, an investment of two hundred million dollars, a multi- million dollar budget and unlimited technological support, it proved impossible to sustain eight people with adequate food, water and air for two years.
If all that human intelligence was unable to make Biosphere 2 work, it makes you wonder how the marvellously integrated ecosystems of earth, which have supported life for countless generations, just happened without an intelligence behind it.