Climate Change, Sustainability, and Biomimicry
Acclaimed environmental writer Andy Revkin recently blogged on his New York Times opinion page, Dot Earth, about a recent conference in Paris: Our Common Future Under Climate Change. What stood out to me in that piece was the mention of a new field of inquiry: adaptation science. An inherently interdisciplinary perspective was being taken by many nations, exemplified by a variety of approaches and pathways for creating a sustainable future. The emphasis was on diverse, locally-attuned, and bottom-up processes that achieve “ambitious” mitigation, and build resilient ecosystems.
There is no better teacher than Ma Nature when it comes to adapting, evolving, surviving, and thriving. I can’t help but be inspired when I study biomimicry, and when I apply its principles to designing solutions for clients. It’s a no-brainer that biomimicry is one of the most important approaches we have for sustainability, as evidenced by this article from the Biomimicry Institute, which shares the ways in which biomimicry is influencing a wide range of industries to shift their processes to support a more sustainable society.
Alchemus Prime integrates biomimicry into solution-building for climate change mitigation and adaptation, ensuring that we adopt a more humble approach and look to nature as mentor to help solve climate change, one of the most daunting human-caused challenges of our time. Other challenges that are reaching epidemic proportions include diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Interestingly, the same behaviors we perform for our own health work to reduce climate change too. Eating plant-based foods, using fossil fuel-free approaches to transportation such as bicycles and walking, and spending more time in nature rather than in heated and cooled rooms that use up energy, are all good for our health and for climate mitigation. Personal and planetary resilience are one and the same. The bridge: our behavior.
Biomimicry is a key component of addressing pressing challenges such as climate change and lifestyle disease. We can consciously emulate this tree by being rooted yet flexible, by engaging light and shade, and by giving nutrients and receiving them too so that we can support a community, not just ourselves.