ABSTRACT
The Biosphere 2 project in Arizona was the most ambitious project attempting to mimic the Earth's "life-support system" in structure and function at a smaller scale and by technological means, "with the objective of creating and producing biospheres", to date. In the wider public, the value of these services is commonly taken for granted, as was legitimated when the human population was so low that its impact could not seriously undermine their provision. Standard economic arguments are still reminiscent of Colin W. Clark's example of the maximum profit theoretically achievable from the blue whale when using "business accounting in the service of barbarism". The reason is one that surfaces constantly when sustainable development is considered in the political arena: Conservation will be necessary and of benefit for all in the long run, but more immediate concerns are higher on the public agenda.
