Biomimicry is Usually the Answer
I have never really understood, with our early and continuous fascination with Nature, how we as a species find ourselves so far from it. There is little that we produce or create that actually works within Nature. From our houses and skyscrapers to our modes of transportation to the clothing on our backs and even to the foods we eat, we design, create and deliver little resembling that which is natural, regardless of marketing claims. (we now have commercials for high-fructose corn syrup for goodness sake!)
The concept of biomimicry is to look to Nature when faced with a challenge and see if it, or something like it, has already been solved, instead of starting from scratch. By applying this concept, we will almost always find the answer.
Science has begun to apply biomimicry (aka biomimetics) in the design of new products or the solving of old problems. The most publicized example, I believe, was the coverage lavished on Speedo’s Fastskin suits, designed from the unique principles of shark skin, which swimmers began wearing during the 2000 Olympics. Close to 80% of the swimming medals that year were won by those wearing those kinds of suits. Solar lilypads in Glasgow, the stickiness of Gecko feet and the constant change of birds wings while in flight are recent examples I have stumbled across.
These are great applications of biomimicry, but as is recommended in “Natural Capitalism,” it is in the processes of Nature where we need to pay special attention in order to deliver true sustainability for the human race. In nature, no matter what is happening, there are no waste products as there are in our own processes. Nature creates a zero sum equation, as in the carbon cycle of the earth. It is our own input of too much of some parts of this cycle that is throwing off the equilibrium of the earth and causing climate change. Our goal must be to better mimic Nature’s own processes, or at leat Her zero sum equations, in order to bring back the equilibrium we have so dangerously altered.
The Able Project in the UK is a prime example of such thinking. The short version is this, “From Cardboard to Caviar”:
- used cardboard from restaurants & shops picked up –>
- shredded cardboard recycled for horse bedding –>
- used bedding added to worm farm compost piles –>
- compost collected and added to plant beds & extra worms fed to sturgeon fish farm –>
- caviar is then harvested from the sturgeon and sold back to the restaurants
What other problems exist where we can apply biomimicry soltutions? What other biomimicry solutions are out there already in the works?
