Some Thoughts On Biomimicry

A summary of:
Janine Benyus (2004). Biomimicry: What Would Nature Do Here?. In Ausubel, K. & Harpignies, J.P., eds., Nature’s Operating Instructions: The True Biotechnologies. Sierra Club Books: San Francisco.

The declaration presented hither is that nosotros demand to larn from nature how to “create the weather condition conducive to life.” This does non hateful learning how to exercise improve as well as improve simulations of ourselves (see Turkle’s Alone Together), but rather to larn the fine fine art that nature seems to exercise so instinctively, of beingness OF NATURE. Our work begins past times thinking of ourselves equally something exterior of nature, as well as thus positioning ourselves inwards opposition to it. Sadly, nosotros demand to larn how, or retrieve how, to live nature; as well as our teachers are all to a greater extent than or less us. Hence the feel inwards biomimicry: “Biomimicry is excogitation inspired past times nature, looking to nature equally a teacher.”

What nosotros find, if nosotros are humble plenty to encounter it, is: “In fact, organisms get got done everything nosotros humans desire to exercise but without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet, or mortgaging their future” (5). So since nosotros seem to get got lost our mode inwards this respect, nosotros should “step exterior as well as inquire the local geniuses that surround us.” This agency changing our questions, e.g. “…when nosotros desire to construct clean a surface, nosotros acquire hung upward on questions such equally ‘What’s the to the lowest degree toxic detergent to use?’ or ‘How tin bathroom I trim down the break energy involved inwards sandblasting?’ Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 to a greater extent than helpful enquiry mightiness live ‘How does nature rest clean?’” In short, nosotros should live bespeak questions along the lines of “What would nature exercise here?” The result: “Instead of seeing nature equally warehouse, yous start out to encounter her equally teacher” (8).

What are some of the lessons, then? One is that nosotros are living completely out of proportion to our percentage of the planet. Things that nosotros assume equally human rights instantly – e.g. the correct to Internet access, the correct to electricity – are predicated upon this disproportionate purpose of nature’s resources. Consider: “And how does nature powerfulness itself? Obviously, non the mode nosotros do. Of degree nosotros all rely on photosynthesis, on sunlight captured past times plants. But inwards our case, it’s ancient sunlight trapped 65 1 1000 one thousand years agone past times plants that nosotros instantly dig upward as well as ignite inwards a huge bonfire. We burn downwards 100,000 years of ancient flora increase every year” (7). Wes Jackson (quoted here) points out that our greed is founded upon a disrespect for nature equally a instructor (“When nosotros start out to encounter nature equally mentor, gratitude tempers greed as well as the notion of resources becomes obscene”). Benyus argues that nosotros demand to finally realize how amazing nature is inwards gild to realize how self-evident the rationale is for protecting it. My enquiry is, how are our technologies helping us realize this? I would tell that this is exactly what many of our technologies force farther as well as farther from our awareness. What if they were instead designed inwards a mode that mimicked nature, thus bringing that to our awareness?

Another lesson is that the globe is a web. We exercise non contribute additively to our environments. As Postman pointed out, introducing a applied scientific discipline into our social lives, for instance changes the entirety of social life. Furthermore, this agency that the simply mode to approach the globe is inwards a holistic way. “In gild to bargain amongst that sort of complexity, nosotros demand to showtime paying attending to how organisms alive inwards context. We demand to throw a political party where people who are asking, ‘How does life travel inwards a mode that enhances place?’ tin bathroom acquire together amongst people who are asking, ‘How shall nosotros live?’” (12). So how DO nosotros desire to live?

Benyus finds promise inwards humanity’s distinct skill: “One affair that seems to brand us dissimilar from other creatures, equally far equally nosotros know, is our powerfulness to human activeness collectively – equally a whole species – on our understanding” (12). If nosotros accept this declaration equally true, it agency that at that spot is promise for majority modify inwards our thinking almost the world, which would so prescribe an exclusively dissimilar human relationship amongst it.