Bioneers 2008: Janine Benyus, Nature's Best 100 Solutions, and 16 Businesses Using Biomimicry
Photo provided by Bioneers
Think of Janine Benyus, and your brain will likely bounce right to biomimicry.
Benyus is someone we've talked about often before, but just to refresh you, she is the president of the Biomimicry Institute and spoke at last weekend's Bioneers conference.
During her speech, she outlined some of nature's best 100 solutions for our problems, as well as companies that are working to implement them.
Read on to find out more about which companies are using nature for inspiration for your products.
UPDATE: A video interview with Janine Benyus has just been released and we have it here for your viewing pleasure. Check it out after the jump. Coming along soon is a new book by Benyus, to be called Nature's 100 Best. In this book, she discusses many of the problems we have, and the solutions found in nature already uncovered by the Biomimicry Institute.
The group found over 2100 solutions after a year of studying some of the greatest modern challenges we face as a species, and how nature solves the same problems.
Some of the biomimicry solutions include:146 ways to do water-based chemistry49 new ways to generate energy23 new ways to absorb water and 43 new ways to store it58 ways to manage extreme temperatures42 new ways to cooperate
Some of the companies working on incorporating biomimicry into design are:Calera (biomineralization)Novomer (CO2 into biodegradable plastics)Dyesol (solar cells)Qualcomm (display screens)WhalePower (wind turbines)BioPower (wave power)Purebond (bonding systems)Regen Energy (energy solutions)Qinetiq (water harvesting)Grimshaw (architecture)Aquaporin (water purification)PAXwater (flow forms)Cambridge Biostability (preservation)Biosignal (antibacterial methods)The Land Institute (agriculture systems)
Looks like a pretty long list, right?! It's only the beginning. Biomimicry holds solutions for everything - food, energy, economics, government, building, water, health...anything at all that we can want to accomplish, nature has already done it in some way.
Biomimicry is being taken up by companies right and left, and new generations of students are learning biomimicry as the first place to start when problem-solving and designing.
Truely amazing stuff.
More on Janine Benyus:Video: Janine Benyus on Biomimicry Biomimicry by Janine BenyusVideo: Janine Benyus with 12 Sustainable Design Concepts Using BiomimicryMore on Bioneers 2008:Bioneers 2008: How to Use Digital Media for Environmental Activism - Advice from the ExpertsBioneers 2008: High Tech High Students Creating Our FutureBioneers 2008: Familiar Faces – Interface Carpets, WiserEarth, Nepalese Paper and MoreBioneers 2008: Mark Sommer Creates Educasts for Mobile LearningBioneers 2008: Opening Speech by Kenny AusubelBioneers 2008: Nature and Technology Joining ForcesBioneers 2008: A Green Conference StandardBioneers 2008: Solar-Powered Water Fountain a Great DIY Project
