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Abstract
Ecology is often considered to be an anti-science and anti-technology apocalyptic social movement. But ecology is first a part of the scientific adventure of Western culture around the Globe. International scientific collaboration was necessary to study the whole Earth. In 1957-58, the International Geophysical Year opened the Space Age. Today, many big international scientific research projects on Earth's global habitability are in progress. The IGBP (International GeosphereBiosphere Programme) was launched by the ICSU (International Council of Scientific Unions) in 1986. The 1 IASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) works on a Biosphere Project. Global Ecology is synonymous with science of the Biosphere. On that subject, our ignorance is· now recognized. The present notes are concerned with the few men who have created a scientific tradition of holistic studies about our global environment. The Biogeochemistry and the cosmic meaning of The Biosphere were introduced in the 1920s by the great Russian geoscientist Vladimir !. Vernadsky (1863-1945). The concept of a Vernadskian scientific revolution is proposed.