Ideas Inspired by Nature That Help Us & the Environment

Biomimicry, an emerging field impacting design in everything from architecture to electronics and machinery, takes processes and structures present in nature as a starting point for human designs. Recognizing that natural designs are the result of billions of years of evolution working to make living organisms as compatible as possible with their surrounding environments, biomimicry aims to mimic and adapt ideas found in nature to human needs, often with significant improvements in efficiency and significantly lower environmental impacts than conventional designs.

Building Design

• It takes an extraordinary amount of energy to heat, cool and light buildings in modern cities, and that represents both a huge price and a massive environmental impact. In nature, however, numerous species -- many of which are as sensitive to heat and cold as we are and just as dependent on light to see -- inhabit and build dwellings in extreme climates without artificial energy sources. In Zimbabwe, architects and engineers combined traditional masonry methods with a design inspired by termite mounds to construct a complex that uses less than 10 percent of the energy used by comparable buildings. Without a central cooling system, the building draws in air and breezes from the base and ventilates them through the building until the air becomes too hot and exits through chimneys in the roof, a mechanism used in termite mounds to regulate temperature.

Resistant Materials

• Material production, use and disposal have considerable environmental consequences, from greenhouse gas emission to overburdened landfills. Biological organisms, however, have self-healing mechanisms that reduce the amount of energy consumed in order to repair a body part. Inspired by the healing process of mammal skin, aerospace engineers have developed plastic sheeting with internal deposits of resin that flow onto the surface any time the plastic is scratched or punctured. As the resin dries it creates a patch much like a scab on a cut, creating a surface just as strong as the original plastic. If used in aerospace technologies, the plastic could make air travel safer and reduce the weight and fuel requirements of aircraft.

Artificial Photosynthesis

• Although very much in early research stages, "artificial photosynthesis" is based on the photosynthetic process through which plants use sunlight to create and store energy. Just as plants split water molecules to generate simple carbohydrates and oxygen, scientists hope to replicate the process in order to isolate hydrogen gas, a highly flammable gas that can be used as a fuel. If the process can be completed using less energy than it creates, as is the case with plants, artificial photosynthesis could replace polluting energy sources such as fossil fuels.

Movement and Simple Dynamics

• Life on earth has evolved to make maximum use of available energy resources, with biological processes such as digestion and movement far surpassing the efficiency rates of even our most sophisticated machines. As a result, scientists and designers have increasingly turned to natural structures and processes for more efficient designs. Wind turbine designers, for instance, looked to the bumps on the leading edge of a humpback whale's fin to redesign wind turbine blades with less drag and more lift. The result is a more effective and efficient wind turbine, as quick as a humpback whale dashing underwater.