One of the biggest modern myths about agriculture is that organic farming is inherently sustainable. It can be, but it isn’t necessarily. After all, soil erosion from chemical-free tilled fields undermined the Roman Empire and other ancient societies around the … Continue reading
A mushroom extract fed to honey bees greatly reduces virus levels, according to a new paper. In field trials, colonies fed mycelium extract showed a 79-fold reduction in deformed wing virus and a 45,000-fold reduction in Lake Sinai virus compared … Continue reading
Sustainability has always been a game of catch up. The current energy production and construction trends mean that sustainability researchers have to come up with clever ways to lower emissions. Researchers at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona have … Continue reading
In humanity’s battle against man-made climate change, the Earth itself provides one of the most important weapons, a natural system that breathes in Earth-warming CO2 and exhales oxygen. Yes, I’m talking about plants, engineered by nature itself over the course … Continue reading
Tired of plastic pollution? There are many alternatives. Why should we and brands care about plastic pollution? Plastics is one of the biggest challenges the world is facing right now. Thanks to David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, consumers are suddenly aware … Continue reading
Biological pest control is the way of the future using biomimicry to emulate what nature does. Why genetically modify when we can just learn from nature how it’s already being done, and has been doing it for millions of years. … Continue reading
A small San Antonio family business is trying to combat the dangers of decaying banana peels and the gaseous gore of yesterday’s lunch scraps. Betsy Gruy and daughter Kate Gruy Jaceldo started Compost Queens to keep food waste out of … Continue reading
Fungi can be used to break down waste plastic and create sustainable building materials, according to scientists from Kew Gardens in London. The State of the World’s Fungi 2018 report – the first of its kind – highlights the aspergillus … Continue reading
Elegant design and engineering goes beyond being sustainable to being eco positive. New vocabulary, additional data collection and working with scientists is needed to most effectively stimulate and manage a circular economy, making the means by which we live to … Continue reading
Polyface Farms – How our food is farmed is what matters most, as in biomimicry, study ecosystems and mimic ecosystems, rather than just blaming meat eaters. Animals can be good for the land and have an ecopostive affect. Regenerative farming … Continue reading
The wings of a butterfly have inspired a new type of solar cell that can harvest light twice as efficiently as before and could one day improve our solar panels. Solar panels are usually made of thick solar cells, and … Continue reading
With four major cement manufacturers in the area, is San Antonio ripe for using and developing carbon capture biomimicry tech to ward-off more than $1 billion in EPA non-attainment air quality and health costs? At least until these cement-making bacteria can … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: I stumbled across this piece by Graham some time in 2013, not long after it was published, and it set off more than one lightbulb moment for me. Up to that time I’d considered permaculture an intriguing subculture. … Continue reading
Click here to learn more about biomimicry? Biomimicry's 12 surprising lessons from nature's engineers Janine Benyus Source: Biomimicry Video – SustainableSA.com … Continue reading
Science writer Janine Benyus believes innovators should look to nature when solving a design problem. She says the natural world is full of ideas for making things waterproof, solar-powered and more. Source: Janine Benyus: What Can Today's Designers Learn From … Continue reading
I’m a fisherman who dropped out of high school in 1986 at the age of 14. Over my lifetime, I’ve spent many nights in jail. I’m an epileptic. I’m asthmatic. I don’t even know how to swim. This is my … Continue reading
What if building codes actually required new projects to enhance a certain number of ecosystem services — such as sequestering carbon, building topsoil, enhancing pollination, increasing biodiversity or purifying water and air? Is it possible that a city could be … Continue reading
According to one recent study, there’s at least 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean. That’s more than 250 tons. So what to do with mountains of plastic waste with nowhere to go? Katharina Unger thinks we should eat … Continue reading