by Lisa DiCaprio, Conservation Chair, Sierra Club NYC Group. However, I tire fairly easily of the patronizing tone of the "environmentally enlightened" and do not enjoy when authors shrug off religious ideas as if they were relics. She begins her talk by painting a picture for us of her 7-year-old neighbor, a boy who spends hours on his back studying nature and constantly comes to her with his questions. September 17th 2002 Biomimicry — innovation inspired by nature — combines two Greek words: bio from bios (life) and mimicry from mimesis (imitation). 5. The chapter on "How we will feed ourselves in the future?" Bart King, “Can a carpet factory run like a forest?” GreenBiz, June 12, 2015. Once our team understands the critical ecological dynamics at play, we begin linking them to quantifiable ecosystem services and we measure how many beneficial services the reference habitat produces each year per acre. However, I tire fairly easily of the patronizing tone of the "environmentally enlightened" and do not enjoy when authors shrug off religious ideas as if they were relics. Explore biological intelligence organized by design and engineering functions. Terrapin Bright Green, 14 Biophilic Patterns. Biomimics are scientists and inventors who study nature's greatest achievements - spider silk and tallgrass, seashells and brain cells, photosynthesis and forests - and adapt them for human use. Dora Lee (author), Margot Thompson (illustrator), Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature. Developing a nature center program for 4thgraders on this topic and found this book. Or you can imitate the frayed edges that grant the owl its silent flight. Deeper biomimicry adds a second level, which is the mimicking of natural process, or how it is made. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. I struggled with the attempt of poetic science prose. Janine M. Benyus is an American natural sciences writer, innovation consultant, and author. Way, I thought this book would bring a new perspective in how one see nature but it's a complete disappointment. A well developed look into how biology can shape the world around us. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (William Morrow, 1997), p. 3. We believe biomimicry presents a way to connect with the natural world and learn from its wisdom to better design forms, processes, and systems that are inherently regenerative. The text re-orientates a person thinking from the typical western Baconesque scientific thinking to something more respectful of nature. One day he asks about the large wasps’ nest on her back porch, wanting to know, “Who built it?” Benyus explains that she was taken aback at his assumption that because it was beautiful and complex, it was built by a human. , the world’s largest carpet manufacturer. Interface is incorporating biomimicry in product design and facility operations to fulfill its “Mission Zero promise to eliminate any negative impact the company has on the environment by 2020.” For example, the Interface i2 modular carpet tiles imitate the pattern of “a leaf-strewn forest floor” and can be arranged randomly. The owl feather self-assembles at body temperature without toxins or high pressures, by way of nature’s chemistry. It is engineering, biology, and philosophy wrapped up into one. How much water is being stored in a storm? 3. Alexandra Berger, “Biomimicry: technology inspired by nature,” The Ecologist, March 12, 2019. I appreciate natural beauty and an elegant design solution as much as the next guy, and clearly natural designs often demonstrate extreme economy of necessity. Instead of degrading nature with greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, impermeable surfaces and increased temperatures (the urban heat island effect), Benyus states that cities can be “redesigned with nature’s technology” to “function like forests.” In an “, Interview with Janine Benyus on How to Design Like Nature, Benyus has also worked with Interface to elaborate ecological performance standards for its factory in New South Wales, Australia. For me, Benyus’ evangelical writing style is poetic but out-of-context for such a scientific topic. was the one that has realistically achievable ideas but the rest of them are mostly theoretical. Reading this book was a frustrating experience for many reasons. Without further specification, Ecological Footprint generally refers to the Ecological Footprint of consumption . Science writer, innovation consultant, conservationist. To read is to voyage through time.”... To see what your friends thought of this book.