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Jun 19, 2004

"Natural systems provide trillions of dollars in services that have no man-made substitutes." --Paul Hawken

Natural Capitalism

In 1991, eight people entered a sealed, glass-enclosed, 3-acre living system, where they expected to remain alive and healthy for two years. Of the original 25 small animal species in Biosphere II, 19 became extinct by the end. After 17 months, the humans showed signs of oxygen starvation from living at the equivalent of an altitude of 17,500 feet. Bottom line -- $200 million could not maintain a functioning ecosystem for eight people for 17 months. We add eight people to the planet every three seconds.