Improving being self sufficientish

[Flo]

No doubt the cost of the dome, planning permission and sourcing materials.

You worked out yet if you'll be able to fly Ryan Air to that wedding yet?

[Green Aura]

Did you ever read the report on the biosphere experiment that was carried in the 90s, in the US? If memory serves they couldn't provide sufficient food and all came out fairly malnourished.

However, as it's rather wet and windy here at the moment, the idea of surrounding the house with a big bubble sounds quite attractive.

[Odsox]

You worked out yet if you'll be able to fly Ryan Air to that wedding yet?

Yes, in fact there have been no cancellations planned at all for Cork airport.
Maybe that's where Mr O'Leary's mum lives.

[Flo]

Did you ever read the report on the biosphere experiment that was carried in the 90s, in the US? If memory serves they couldn't provide sufficient food and all came out fairly malnourished.

I sort of remember hearing that. One wonders if the people involved had any knowledge of growing and nutrition before they started - or understanding of soil and climate which affect crops.

[Thomzo]

the Mediterranean dome on the other hand has great potential.
It would be fantastic to build your house in there, you could grow everything you needed for food (provided you went vegetarian). That would be the ultimate in dropping out and ignoring the rest of the world.
There must be a flaw in that plan somewhere though .......

Mmmm, warm. Could do with some warm at the moment. Can I join you?

[Flo]

Come on Thomzo - you are going for the soft south west of the UK. Come up here to Northumberland for some bracing weather - will take you for a walk on one of our bracing windswept beaches.

[Odsox]

Did you ever read the report on the biosphere experiment that was carried in the 90s, in the US? If memory serves they couldn't provide sufficient food and all came out fairly malnourished

I'm with Flo on this as I find it difficult to believe that it's not possible to grow a balanced diet in an enclosed environment.
If I can grow all our vegetable needs in a couple of small tunnels, it should be dead easy in a Mediterranean climate dome, but it would need to be prepared beforehand. If you had to start from scratch you would definitely starve.

If on the other hand you had a productive dome already planted up with mature trees like olives and bananas, plus all the temperate fruit trees, plus all the stuff I can grow, then I fail to see how you couldn't thrive.

[Green Aura]

One thing I found interesting (I looked it up again the other day, after I posted this) was that because they were pretty much on starvation rations their bodies learned quite quickly to utilise what they were eating, so even though technically undernourished (possibly better description than malnourished) they were quite fit and healthy.

I'm not sure what preparation went on beforehand but apparently there were a few failures (both plant and animal) which contributed to all this. You'd think under such controlled conditions this would be much less of a problem than in the real world.

Anyway, on a more up to date note, I read in the last day or two, that the UAE are commissioning a similar but much larger project, out in the desert, looking towards terraforming Mars! Just a personal thought but I think the many, many millions of dollars this is going to cost might be better spent cleaning up this planet rather than working out how to b*gger up another one.

[Odsox]

the UAE are commissioning a similar but much larger project, out in the desert, looking towards terraforming Mars!

I may be wrong (see disclaimer) but I understood that the temperatures in the Arabian desert ranged from about 30 - 50 C and from what I remember of the Martian climate, that ranges from 20 C to minus ever so much, and that's at the equator.
What will that prove?

[Green Aura]

Dunno. Maybe they'll refrigerate it. They have ski slopes in Dubai.

[Weedo]

A while ago I was at a social event (end of financial year) put on by a couple of accounting firms. I fell into discussion with two young up and comers re protection of the environment etc. ( the "what do you do?" thingy) It seems that these two subscribe to an apparently growing philosophy amongst the younger generation of professionals that proposes that we forget about the environment and other species, use up this planet and then simply move to another. their basis is that 1/ we will never be able to limit the human population expansion and 2/ it does not make economical sense to reserve resources unless there is an ultimate intent to use them.

[Green Aura]

I find that truly terrifying, Weedo. I rather hoped younger generations were more clued up than mine.

[Flo]

Sounds like accountants who understand the price of everything and the value of nothing.