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…
I got seriously interested in sustainability years ago, during post-graduate studies. I was fortunate to be introduced through great books like “Natural Capitalism”, “Cradle to Cradle” and “Biomimicry”. Along with a mass of detail and lots of “reasons why” sustainability was important, I found a set of straightforward strategies that challenge out-of-date 20th century assumptions about the…
Saving paper saves money and the environment Lilydale accountancy and financial services group White Roche and Associates has taken up the positive sustainability challenge, working with Balance3 to make positive sustainability part of their long term strategy.
Business and sustainability Business has traditionally tended to treat environmental issues as an additional overhead to the production of quality products. Recently, a variety of businesses of different sizes in different industries have found that a more pro-active, creative approach can actually IMPROVE the bottom line. Done well, sustainability is PROFITABLE.
In the book “Crossing the Chasm“, marketer Geoffrey Moore proposed that there is a specific challenge in moving innovations from the early adopters (technology enthusiasts and visionaries) out into the broader community – particularly in engaging the early majority ( who are pragmatists). Many innovations never make it across “the chasm” into the broader population, regardless of…
Michael Gerber first published his business classic “The eMyth” in 1986, and it’s been a business book bestseller for decades, revised as “The eMyth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It“ in 1995. (NOTE: The “e” is nothing to do with the Internet – it stands for “entrepreneur”.) Its insights…
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…
