Have you seen a garden inside a bottle ever? If you haven't Let's see what it looks like. We will look into the smallest garden to the biggest garden ever and look at our life from space.
Terrariums and closed ecosystems
A terrarium is essentially a miniature garden enclosed in a glass container, creating a small-scale ecosystem. The name derives from the Latin words ‘terra’ (meaning earth) and ‘arium’ (a place or receptacle). These charming displays are mostly and sometimes totally self-sustaining, as the plants inside perform transpiration and condensation, effectively watering themselves. The sealed environment of a terrarium captures moisture and heat, which helps maintain a consistent climate conducive to plant growth. While some terrariums are open, allowing for more direct interaction and maintenance, closed terrariums can operate with minimal human intervention, recycling water and nutrients within their own little biosphere.
David Latimer's echo bottle and biosphere 2
David Latimer’s closed eco bottle is a fascinating example of a self-sustaining ecosystem, first of as such. In 1960, Latimer planted a spiderwort (tradescantia) in a 10-gallon glass carboy and sealed it after adding some water. Remarkably, the bottle was last opened in 1972 to add water, and since then, it has remained closed. The ecosystem inside the bottle has thrived for over half a century without any external intervention. This closed environment demonstrates the principles of photosynthesis and the water cycle in a self-contained system. Many such followed from his example. Similarly in previous article The Silent Shrimp I wrote about self-sustaining aquarium. There are plenty of online resources for someone interested to make a biosphere at home.
Biosphere 2 is a remarkable scientific endeavor originally designed to be a self-sustaining ecological laboratory, which was larger and more in massive scale than Latimer's little home experiment. Enclosed within a glass and steel structure, it spans three acres in the Arizona desert and includes various biomes such as an ocean with a coral reef, marsh, rainforest, savannah, desert, and agricultural areas, along with a human habitat. The project’s initial function was to study global ecology and support eight people living inside for two years, from 1991 to 1993, providing invaluable data for future space colonization efforts. It set records in human life support and environmental impact monitoring, producing about 80% of its food internally. Today, Biosphere 2 continues to serve as a unique facility for research on Earth’s ecosystems and the development of strategies to combat climate change. And surely Space X, have their own laboratories with self-sustaining biospheres to colonize Mars once the Starship is underway to Mars.
The Man who stepped on the Moon.
Now Let us look at the big picture from the Eyes of the man who stepped on the moon. Let's look at the earth from the Eyes of Neil Amstrong. From space when he looked at the earth, he could see this little sphere of life floating on otherwise vast un-inhabitable universe. for millions and billions of kilometers of empty space. Earth is self-sustainable. And although massive from our eyes essentially it is a billion-year-old biosphere. What are the characters such a biosphere? and now we know these. Let's apply this new intuition.
Except light hardly anything goes out and come into the earth. (of course, meteorites and space crafts are exceptions) And whatever changes occur, whatever the life on earth is start from earth, live on earth and die on earth. Earth is an almost closed echo system. A gigantic one.
More than one occasion, I have been asked, or advised to be like earth. Although there is a big, functioning biosphere out there, essentially, we all share the same atoms, same elements over and over again. If we just forget that souls exist outside the earth, we are just part of a gigantic reaction which is called earth. So, when someone says to "Be like earth" there are several meanings to it.
What is the meaning to be Like earth:
It may represent to be silent like earth. Earth hardly moves on a visible scale relative to us. It seems stable and although life sprout and die, earth remains same.
It may represent, to be self-sustainable like a Terrarium. To be independent inside ourselves, to generate power and recycle thoughts to sustain till it eventually changes its form.
It may represent, to think of us as a part of nature. Although life we think is belong to us. Maybe we are just elements which are in delusion to think that we own something. Which is wrong. We are just earth, due to forces of nature, raised above the ground, detached from ground and move for some time before getting mixed with earth back again. We are bounded by gravity and other forces to the earth in an inseparable way. Only when you look at from outer space with the analogy of a terrarium in mind that we will be able to appreciate this fact.
What is it being like earth feels to you?
You may also like to read: Into the wild Blue yonder or why do birds fly?
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