Frugality [669]

>Anyway; I think that there is a point here- growing stuff.
>
>Based on my experiences when I visited Biosphere II and the Eden
>Project, I don't think it's exactly rocket science to say that it would
>be fairly straightforward to arrange for there to be a tropical climate;
>one where basically chucking something over your left shoulder it would
>grow.

I seem to remember a few months ago an exchange on this board about the
costs of bring SOIL up in sufficient quantities, with cost per pound being
an issue there too, especially considering the tons of topsoil needed for a
fully functioning biosphere.

At that time I proposed as an alternative that one need only bring up a
wheelbarrow full of compost, some earthworms, and a variety of seeds, and
combine these with the water, sunlight, and sand from crushed regolith that
are available up there, and let the natural processes work. But it would be
a gradual process of nurturing and stewardship, one that really hasn't been
tried in realistic conditions as far as I know.

Is anyone aware of any research toward effective soil formation in a sealed
atmosphere? One of the Biosphere scientists wrote an article about this,
suggesting that it was the poorly understood process of soil formation
within the sealed Biosphere that contributed to the CO2 imbalance that
ultimately wrecked the Biosphere experiment. That plus the cloudiest year
in recorded Arizona history.

It ought to be relatively easy to set up some research toward this end. I
even read on the SSI website that several folks have tried to create
simulated lunar regolith for engineering and scientific research. Anybody
know how much that stuff might cost, and where it might be available from?

Brad

The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*