When we think of champions in the battle against climate change, names like Greta Thunberg, David Suzuki, and David Attenborough come to mind. But would you ever associate former US President Donald Trump with climate action? Probably not. But, his 2016 presidential campaign manager, Steve Bannon - you know the former investment banker, Hollywood executive, the guy who’s continuously being charged and convicted of crimes - well, he played a surprising role in an incredible scientific endeavour which has been aiding in climate change research for decades. You think you know someone.
The story goes back to the 1970’s at an ‘intentional community’ in New Mexico called Synergia Ranch. Whether or not it was a fancy name for a hippy cult, Synergia Ranch became a breeding ground for ideas about creating a self-contained, ecologically sustainable environment. Co-founder John Allen, an ecologist and playwright, dreamed of blending high-tech and ecological principles to create a self-sustaining wonderland.
Allen believed that the earth was already as good as dead, so he wanted to build a big ass terrarium where plants, animals and humans could thrive. But he needed cash. Heaps of it. Enter stage right, Allen’s billionaire buddy, Texas oil tycoon, Edward Bass. Bass contributed a staggering $150 million (petty cash really) and became the Chair of the Space Biosphere Ventures company which administered and managed the whole project. In 1991, Allen’s dream was realised and the construction of the Biosphere 2 was complete - biosphere 1 is Earth. Makes sense.
A 3.14-acre terrarium with 6,500 windows, reaching nearly 28 meters in height and sealed by a 500-ton welded stainless steel liner. Containing a small ocean, mangrove wetlands, tropical rainforest, Savannah grassland, and a fog desert, Biosphere 2 was the solution for the survival of humanity. The goal was to house eight "biospherians" who would live entirely within this self-contained ecosystem, growing their own food, recycling waste, and demonstrating that humans could potentially survive in space. Could they really pull this off? Or would the whole thing turn into green slime?
Well, there were a few challenges. Within two weeks, they’d broken the rules by sending one biospherian to the hospital (she chopped off her finger) and she sneakily brought back some supplies. They also tuckered into their emergency food supplies way sooner than expected and then around the 8-month mark, oxygen levels were dangerously low because of an explosion of oxygen gulping bacteria in the soil. You’d think there’d be excess CO2 because of that, but no, it chemically bonded with the concrete in the structure. You can’t make this shit up. Hummingbirds and honeybees died, crops went unpollinated, bugs attacked what remained and cockroaches reigned supreme. It was a hot mess.
Needless to say, Biosphere 2 wasn’t getting good press. Bass had already put in another $50 million into the project and needed to get the finances under control. Enter stage left, Steven Bannon, who was managing his own investment banking firm at the time. Bannon was interested in Biosphere 2’s potential and, after failed attempts to secure venture capital, Bannon proposed a bold marketing plan: sell biospheres to governments worldwide and build Biosphere 3 as a Las Vegas casino and resort. Can you imagine… gambling amongst the corpses of hummingbirds.
Anyway, Bass agreed, and the solution was to remove John Allen from control and appoint Bannon as acting CEO. But Bannon's takeover in April 1994 was nothing short of dramatic. In an audacious move, accompanied by U.S. marshals, Bannon entered Biosphere 2 and purged the entire management team just as the second team of biospherians moved in. It was a shit show. Ecologist, Abigail Alling and engineer, Mark Van Thillo, two passionate defenders of the project, were concerned about safety but were arrested after trying to break the system's safety valves and open the doors. What followed was a complex legal battle, with the jury eventually finding in favour of Alling and Van Thillo, awarding them $600,000.
The second team of biospherians tried to continue the mission, but it was cut short. In 1995, Bannon brokered a deal with Columbia University to manage Biosphere 2 and focus on using the giant terrarium for climate research instead of the original experiment. In 2003, the University of Arizona took over, and today Biosphere 2 continues its important mission as a climate research facility. Like a time machine, it allows scientists to simulate future climate scenarios and study their impact on various ecosystems. It’s bloody fantastic.
But we’re still gobsmacked that Steve Bannon was the guy who made all this happen.
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