JANINE BENYUS: How can biomimicry benefit the environment?

Interview by Wendee Holtcamp

JANINE BENYUS, founder of the Biomimicry Institute

We need to redesign our world and the way we meet our needs—everything from how we grow food, to how we make materials and manufacture products, to the way we transport and shelter ourselves. In that redesign, we need to find radical new ideas that are also proven to work on this planet.

Biomimicry is innovation inspired by nature’s designs. It is a way of seeking sustainable solutions for the planet by emulating nature’s blueprints, chemical recipes and ecosystem strategies. It’s essential at this time when we need to redesign everything that our designs are innovative and radical. Life evolved 3.8 billion years ago, so biomimicry has that many years of “research and development” to tap into. I hope the greatest legacy of biomimicry will be an increased respect for organisms and ecosystems as models and mentors waiting to yield sustainable designs and also increased reasons to conserve. 

Video: Janine Benyus shares nature's designs

Nature's Designs

In this inspiring talk about recent developments in biomimicry, Janine Benyus provides heartening examples of ways in which nature is already influencing the products and systems we build.
Watch the video on TED

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