The Bioneers conference, an old staple of the conference circuit for many greens, will once again be held two weeks from now, a little ways north of San Francisco. But this year there's an additional new event, put together by the Biomimicry Institute (with whom I've worked): it's a day-long seminar the day after Bioneers finishes, called Biomimicry’s Climate-Change Solutions: How Would Nature Do It?
We've long touted biomimicry as an excellent tool for green design, and Worldchanging ally Janine Benyus was one of TIME's Heroes of the Environment in 2007. How can biomimicry help climate change? Here are a few examples from their press release:
Filters modeled on human lungs sequester over 90% of the CO2 in flue stacks.
Wind turbines designed after humpback whale flippers show a staggering 32% reduction in drag over conventional blades.
Biofuels grown as diverse, native plants akin to prairies produce 238% more bioenergy than conventional monocultures.
A score of brilliant thinkers from the worlds of engineering, biology, chemistry and venture capital will speak on the state of the art in bio-inspired design that increases efficiency, reduces toxicity and increases the abundance of renewable energy and materials. Some that we've mentioned here before are the small startup formed by University of Delaware researchers who make circuit boards out of chicken feathers and soy plastic; solar cells that mimic photosynthesis; and Pax Scientific. If you're new to biomimicry or already a fan, this would be a great event to be fire-hosed with knowledge and get connected to those doing great things in the field.
