The term "biosphere"
was coined by geologist Eduard Seuss in 1875, which he defined
as: We have reached a point on our planet when serious debate on what to do about global warming can no longer be postponed. An understanding of Vladimir I. Vernadsky’s work on the biosphere and noösphere is absolutely central to such conversations. It is our hope that bringing Vernadsky’s ecological vision to the English–speaking world will help deepen our understanding of planetary processes and enable us to become better stewards of our planet. Synergetic Press titles explore the creation and history of Biosphere 2, the world’s largest laboratory for global ecology, and inventor John Allen’s memoir, Me and the Biospheres is a passionate call to reawaken our senses. |
Me and the Biospheres:
A Memoir by the Inventor of Biosphere 2
|
Anyone suffering from the Global Warming
Blues will cherish this uplifting account of the most ambitious
environmental experiment of our time: Biosphere 2, a miniature
Earth under glass, the world’s largest laboratory for global
ecology. John Allen’s memoir, Me and the Biospheres is a rich
and complex narrative, filled with rollicking adventure, exceptional
camaraderie and mind-bending science. Almost as astonishing as the structure is the story of how it came to be. Back in 1969, Biosphere 2 was a mere seed in the luminous mind of writer, actor, philosopher, inventor, and scientist John Allen. He prepared for the manifestation of Biosphere 2 by assembling smaller projects: the creation of a ship to study ocean and river ecologies and cultures; a rainforest enrichment project; a theater group; a world-class art gallery and more. As awe-inspiring as the great cathedrals, Biosphere 2’s building and operation demanded the efforts of the most diverse team of scientists, engineers, artists and thinkers from around the world with whom John Allen worked closely for decades. Me and the Biospheres also is an account of the singular life John Allen has led: his travels to Egypt, Vietnam, Nepal, Tibet and India, his meetings with people like Buckminster Fuller, William Burroughs, Charles Mingus, and Ornette Coleman. From building developments in Iran to adobe houses in New Mexico, from Harvard Business School to cafés in Tangiers, from board meetings in Fort Worth to mystical moments with Sufi sages, John Allen has impacted millions of people with manifest integrity. His humorous and Whitmanesque memoir is a tribute to the ingenuity and dauntlessness of the human mind. Me and the Biospheres is a passionate call to reawaken to the beauty of our peerless home, Biosphere 1, the Earth. VISIT THE OFFICIAL BOOK AND AUTHOR SITE HERE
Praise for Me and the Biospheres Mark Twain once famously said that reasonable men bend themselves
to the ways of the world therefore it stands to reason that
only unreasonable men can change it … John Allen is an unreasonable
man, a visionary, a poet and a true polymath which makes him
a square peg in a very round hole and this gets up the noses
of people who want business as usual even if what they are
doing quite plainly doesn't work. Tim Smit, Founder and Chief Executive, Eden Project, Cornwall, England
Antonino Saggio, Editor of The IT Revolution in Architecture book series, Professor of Architecture, University of Rome Me and the Biospheres is the autobiographical memoir of a visionary who has embodied “The Meeting of East and West” (F.S.C. Northrop), has vigorously participated in “The Two Cultures” (C.P. Snow) and has been a leader in the engineering reification of “The Biosphere” (V.I. Vernadsky). Now, that is a book worth reading. Harold Morowitz, Ph.D., Robinson Professor, George Mason University Now the inside story of Biosphere 2 is told by the man who created it. A fascinating and insightful read into the origins of one of America’s most ambitious ecological experiments and the journey it took to get there, much of it starting right here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Richard Polese, Publisher,
Ocean Tree Books, John Allen can daily create with his thoughts, spoken words and writing pen. His visionary, innovative and synergistic ideas help humankind understand its capabilities to advance towards a more enlightened world. This book gives us a deep look into John’s life, loves and achievements. Dig it. Lisa Law, photographer, videographer,
historian, Me and the Biospheres is an excellent and highly inspiring book, showing in a fascinating way what single humans can accomplish with like minds, and how important and trend-setting far reaching holistic thinking and consciousness change is for human evolution and survival of our species within a livable environment, the gaian biosphere. Dieter A. Hagenbach
|
|
Geochemistry & The Biosphere : Essays by Vladimir Vernadsky
|
Synergetic Press is proud to
announce the long-awaited release of Geochemistry and
The Biosphere, a meticulously edited, reader accessible,
first English translation of the Russian essays by Vladimir
I. Vernadsky (1863-1945). Vernadsky is the highly venerated
father of several geo-based disciplines, including geochemistry,
biogeochemistry, and radiogeology. He wrote the first scientific
theory about the “biosphere,” the life zone of the Earth, and
in the process laid the groundwork for planetary thinking. A
recognized catalyst, this premier scientific work addresses
in detail humanity’s impact on the living systems of the planet.
Geochemistry and The Biosphere contains his
groundbreaking work on the biosphere and the noösphere, as well
as his seminal work on geochemistry. Says Deborah Snyder, Chief Executive of Synergetic Press: “The publication of these essays, written over sixty years ago, comes at an auspicious time. We have reached a point on our planet when serious debate on what to do about global warming can no longer be postponed—an understanding of Vernadsky’s work on the biosphere and noösphere is absolutely central to such conversations. It is our hope that bringing Vernadsky’s ecological vision to the English–speaking world will help deepen our understanding of planetary processes and enable us to become better stewards of our planet.” |
|
Vernadsky maintains that the biosphere is a thin strata, a separate “geological envelope,” inhabited by living matter, the force of which exerts changes in its physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Moreover, this envelope is permeated by cosmic energy, which works even greater changes. Thus the biosphere, the stage on which changes are played out, will evolve over time. According to Vernadsky, from the biosphere a noösphere -- a biosphere influenced by the activity of the human mind -- will ultimately emerge. Vernadsky writes, “Mankind’s power is connected not with its matter but with its brain, its thoughts and its works, guided by its mind. In the geological history of the biosphere, a great future is opened to Man if he realizes it and does not direct his mind and work to self-destruction.” Snyder adds: “Vernadsky was very much ahead of his time. Had his work been more widely translated, his name would be to biospherics what Einstein’s is to relativity or Darwin’s to evolution. In Russia there are stamps, coins, streets, monuments, museums, libraries, mountain ranges, and more that bear his name or portrait. Throughout the world there are foundations and scholarships named after him. This release in English of his most important work is a significant contribution to Earth sciences.” In addition to profound insights into connections between organisms and their environment, Geochemistry and The Biosphere provides rare glimpses into a highly original scientific mind able to integrate knowledge of mineralogy, biochemistry, geochemistry, crystallography, soil science, and the history of science. The scope of his genius alone makes Vernadsky essential reading for scientists, academics, students, and general readers interested in understanding the present and future role of humans on the Earth. |
||
"A new translation of his essays, “Geochemistry and the Biosphere” is worth scanning for more of his prescient thinking, which took the idea forward toward what he called “noösphere,” or Earth becoming a “planet of the mind” (some see hints of the World Wide Web and Google Earth in all of this)."
- Andrew Revkin
The New York Times
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/earth-is-us/
“Vernadsky was a towering pioneer in understanding life on Earth and life coevolving with Earth. His protean range and profound insight shaped our worldview and continues to anticipate our learning.”
—Amory Lovins
Cofounder and CEO, Rocky Mountain Institute
“It is heartening to see this result of years of careful editorial work that has given us a timeless piece of scholarship, in which we witness a truly global systems thinker who was a hundred years ahead of his time. Today, the general insights of Vernadsky, regarding the life-enhanced interconnectivity of air, soil, and water, need to become the shared visions of everyone. As a key contribution to the history of biospheric science, this book helps that crucial task.”
—Tyler Volk, Professor of Biology, Codirector Earth and Environmental Science Program, NY University
“Vernadsky can justly be called the
founder of biospherics.”
—John Allen Inventor of Biosphere 2 Project,
Chairman, Global Ecotechnics
“Highly recommended for upper-division
undergraduates through professionals.”
—E. J. Kormondy, emeritus, University of Hawaii at Hilo
Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries
Introduction by Alexander Yanshin, V.P. Emeritus, Russian Academy of Sciences
Translated by Olga Barash
Life
Under Glass:
The Inside Story of Biosphere 2
|
Planet in a bottle. Eden revisited. Laboratory under glass. The largest self-sustaining closed ecological system ever made. Biosphere 2 is many things to many people. From its half-acre farm to its coral reef to its emerald rainforest--this unique research facilty has proven itself a marvel of human engineering and a testament to the human imagination. For two years, four men and four women lived and worked inside the structure, recycling their air, water, food, and wastes, and setting a world record for living in an isolated environment. But what has this giant glass-and-steel greenhouse been to those most intimately involved with it? What has it meant to the first crew who studied and cared for it? What was it really like sealed inside a giant laboratory for twenty-four months? In Life Under Glass crew members, Abigail Alling and Mark Nelson with co-captain Sally Silverstone present the full account of those two remarkable years. From the struggles of growing their own food, to learning how to help sustain their life-giving atmosphere, the general reader is offered a rare glimpse into how a group of dedicated researchers managed to surprise the world and fulfill their dream. Other crews may come and go, but no one
else will face the risks, the uncertainties, and the challenges
that this new breed of explorers did on Biosphere 2's maiden
voyage. Here is the fascinating story of how it all appeared--living
under glass. Selected as one of the top ten
science experiments in 1993 by Time Magazine and Good Morning
America. |
Man, Earth and the
Challenges
|
To explore the history of the Planet Earth and its future, and to examine man's relation to the Planet Earth and his future, the Institute of Ecotechnics invited outstanding scientists, artists of the avant-garde, explorers, and managers of our present time, to a four day conference in the South of France. This book is a record of those shared investigations and experiences, fears and hopes, ignorance and knowledge of the mystery and patterns of Planet Earth. Freed from the constaints of speaking only to colleagues of their own discipline and set in a non-media, non-governmental atmosphere, the conference explored 4.5 billion years of time from the viewpoints of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Worlds. Man, Earth and the Challenges both records the results of this creative interchange and offers a unique insight into the process of holistic thinking itself. Speakers include: W.S.Burroughs, A.King, M.Nelson, E.D.McKee, R.G.Gibson, J.D.Hays, A.Buzzati-Traverso, T.Heyerdahl, R.T.Adams, G.Hewes, G.T.Prance, A.A.Reid, P.M.Rotmil, B.Lotsch, C.Garcia, S.Ranganathan Freed from the constaints of speaking only to colleagues of their own discipline and set in a non-media, non-governmental atmosphere, the conference explored 4.5 billion years of time from the viewpoints of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Worlds.
|