The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

According to Janine Benyus Biomimicry is the practice of borrowing nature’s design principles to create more-sustainable products and processes. It is an interesting concept for designers, engineers, and architects. Like Benyus said, we stumbled upon fossil fuels and used our natural resources before we were able to consciously understand the consequences of our usage. As humans we use way too much energy. Life in the natural world operates on small amounts of energy without using high heats or toxic chemicals. We need to start finding ways to appreciate and use the subtle amount of energy already provided. I think it is interesting to find though that we are already mimicking nature in some sense. Benyus says that the humpback whale’s flipper is being mimicked in wind-turbine design, as well as having dye-sensitized solar cells mimic photosynthesis. There are many other examples of Biomimicry that are already being implemented, or are developing in society. I agree with Benyus and think it is really important to teach students at an early age on how to learn from nature instead of learning about nature. If the natural world has been successful so far at using and recycling resources, then as a human race we should be learning from what nature and executing as much as we can of what we learn into new designs. Sustainability is not as simple as it sounds however. It would take the support from the masses to successfully make a change for the better. We are so used to doing things the way we always have that convenience triumphs over sustainable practices. Biomimicry has been around since ancient times, we need to spread the practices of this concept and make people fully aware of it’s benefits.