"Biosphere 2 Reality and Summer" Tucson Warnings Or Dangers Tip by KimberlyAnn

Although I have Biosphere 2 listed under a must see, there are two bits of information you should be aware of. I have been told that Biosphere 2 is miserable in the hot summer months, as the inside of this research center becomes uncomfortably hot. This could very well be true, as much of Biosphere 2 is a giant green house. Also be aware that if you have heard that scientists live here fulltime, this is no longer true. Originally eight people lived at Biosphere 2 for two years, but due to a variety of difficulties that the group encountered, this experiment has not been repeated. It was discovered that they developed an increase of carbon dioxide, and a decrease of oxygen within the environment, which made it feel as though they were living high up in the Andes Mountains. Also they were unable to grow enough food, so were only eating a 1700 calorie diet per day, and the average weight loss by the end of the 2 years was 14% of their beginning body weight. Because of this they were always hungry, and spent twice as much time gardening each day than originally planned, about four hours per person instead of two. They also had to plant more banana trees in the rainforest than was originally called for. Due to these problems they did not spend as much time on research as they had planned. Even so the experiment taught the scientists many things.