Lovely example of biomimicry from Ecovative via Grist:
Usually you do not want fungi in the walls of your home. But Ecovative is building a home in which having fungi in the walls is the entire point. The “Mushroom Tiny House” will use mycelium (the mass of threadlike “roots” that mushrooms use to take in nutrition) for insulation.
According to Inhabitat, this stuff is basically asbestos except that it’s not bad for the planet, won’t give you cancer, and is related to something you might put on a pizza…
Joel Makower’s recent blog “Why aren’t there more Ray Andersons?” was an interesting read with great insights into who Ray was from other famous sustainability players. The ongoing conversation from that article is the basis of this post. There was a PROCESS behind Ray Anderson’s “aha” moment on sustainability… I only met Ray through his books, including…
Here’s a great example of the Regenerative Business Principle #2 “There are no wastes” combined with Principle #7 “Think small, local and smart”. Harvard professor Dr. David Edward is developing an edible packaging technology he calls a WikiCell. Imagine your single serve yoghurt packaged in a soft foam membrane of raspberry sauce. The yoghurt is packaged inside its…
At a networking event the other day, we were talking about business sustainability. Somebody asked me what I’d say if I found my ideal CEO client next to me in an elevator. KNOW / FEEL / DO One great tip I work with (from Bill Jensen’s Simplicity Survival Handbook) is about being clear in your communication. …
Some of you may have noticed a long gap since our last publication (in fact, it’s a gap of 12 months). This has been due to my father’s losing battle with cancer. He died at the end of February, and now life has become more predictable, if sadder and a bit emptier than before. During this time, and particularly…
In thinking about the quality of our communication, making sure we cover 4 key learning questions can make a big difference. Reflecting on mainstream sustainability messages, many of them are really heavy on the “Why?” question (potential ecological catastrophe) and have limited “What?”, “How” or “What Else?” content. Sustainability practitioners can increase their effectiveness by…
Back in the 19th century the human race got hooked into chemical and mechanical engineering. We developed steam power and learned to make soap in quantity, then later fell in love with petrochemicals. While these have been useful tools to a point, their side effects are showing up as increasingly damaging. Biomimcry is showing up…
