Describes the Biosphere 2 project which has created a closed environment intended to duplicate life on Earth in a way that would facilitate future space colonies.

"In the 1990s, scientists lived inside Biosphere 2 (Biosphere 1 is the Earth itself) for two years, trying to figure out if colonizing Mars would ever be possible. Now scientists don't live there but instead conduct all sorts of studies and experiments aimed to help us better understand our environment and especially understand what sort of things are happening to it due to climate change and other man-made problems. It's a unique take on the Scientists...

"Presents a radical vision of humanity's future as the thinking brain of our Earth-system, ... the author's reflections on how scientific advances are made, and on his own remarkable life as a lone scientist."--Provided by publisher.

Discusses how human use of land and increasing population have threatened natural landscapes and describes the establishment of national parks as a means of preserving these resources.