Biomimicry, according to the Biomimicry Guild that Baumeister co-founded in 1998, is “an innovation method that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies, e.g., a solar cell inspired by a leaf. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies—new ways of living—that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul.”  Leonardo da Vinci, one of the world’s all-time inventive geniuses, is among the best known early adopters of biomimetic design.  His study of bird wings was a driving force behind his efforts to create a flying machine.  Eventually the Wright brothers picked up where Leonardo left off, an idea that finally took flight.  George de Mestral does not have the same name recognition, but most of us are familiar with his invention: Velcro.

Perhaps today’s most ubiquitous example of biomimetic design, the Swiss engineer was inspired to create Velcro after going hunting one day and wrestling with the burrs stuck to his dog’s hair and his clothes.  Under the microscope de Mestral observed the tiny hooks on the end of the burr’s spines that caught anything with a loop - such as clothing, hair or animal fur.  Thus was born the two-part Velcro fastener system, which places hooked materials opposite a loose-looped nylon weave that holds the hooks.  But we’ve only just begun to tap the natural world’s trove of inventive solutions.

The pioneering approach of biomimicry is bringing more biologists to the table when companies and researchers tackle design problems.  How do we create more efficient windmills?  As it turns out, the tubercles on humpback whale fins already offer an answer.  How do we make non-toxic paint?  Ask a peacock, who doesn’t use pigment, but utilizes structure and light to create color.  Trying to avoid extreme weather?  Rapid response systems to flooding caused by heavy thunderstorms could be based on bees.  The insects’ highly sensitive responses to electrical discharges in the air before a summer shower help bring them back to their nest before a downpour.

While biomimicry is helpful in identifying life-friendly materials and processes that enhance (rather than pollute) the bio-sphere, it also embraces a principle that capitalists everywhere can salute: performance.  “In nature, if a design strategy is not effective, its carrier dies,” according to the Guild.  In other words, “failures are fossils.”  From saving money on energy use to cutting down on materials used in products and processes, these earth-first biologists make the point that nature is the original inventor, investor, and lean manufacturer.

The emphasis on sustainable design and manufacturing of new products makes Baumeister’s appearance at the BuildGreen Conference, hosted by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, a natural fit.  The conference will bring together a broad variety of stakeholders, including university materials researchers, investors, green building designers, and policy makers interested in applying sustainable design and local green product manufacturing to boost the region’s economy.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Philadelphia Sustainability Director Katherine Gajewski will all be in attendance at the conference, along with a host of other experts and thought leaders interested in linking the region’s sustainability efforts to long-term economic success.  Innovative research from local universities will also be on display to drive home the point that we’ve already got the right recipe for success: a host of highly-productive institutions of higher learning, a manufacturing base in need of retooling, and political will.  The conference organizers are also arguing that our own particular necessity, the need for more high-quality green jobs in the region, should be front and center as we reinvent ourselves as a powerhouse of sustainable activity and investment.

Necessity is one heck of a mother, but Leonardo may have said it even better: “Those who are inspired by a model other than Nature, a mistress above all masters, are laboring in vain.”

Via: http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/13/mother-nature-and-the-necessity-of-invention/#more-3625

Photo Credit: hart_curt via Flickr under Creative Commons License