Magic Mushrooms and the Quest for a Circular Economy

Eban Bayer, co-founder of Ecovative, wrote an interesting article, for GOOD, about the need for a more circular economy. Circular economy is a generic term for an industrial economy that is, by design or intention, restorative and in which materials flows are of two types: biological nutrients, designed to reenter the biosphere safely, and technical nutrients, which are designed to circulate at high quality without entering the biosphere.


Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart’s book Cradle to Cradle  describes a holistic economic, industrial and social framework that seeks to create systems that are not only efficient but also essentially waste free.  The model in its broadest sense is not limited to industrial design and manufacturing; it can be applied to many aspects of human civilization such as urban environments, buildings, economics and social systems.

Bayer's company has addressed this by creating a patented process that cleans and blends agricultural "castoffs" - parts of plants that can't be used for feed or food - and then innoculates them with mycelium.  The mycelium grows indoors in about a week without any need for light, watering or petrochemical inputs.  Every cubic inch of material contains a matrix of 8 miles of tiny mycelial fibers! At the end of the process, the materials are put through a dehydration and heat treating process to stop the growth. This final process ensures that there will never be any spores or allergen concerns.
 
The result is organic packaging that is grown from waste products and can be composted when it is no longer usable.  What's not to love about that?!  Ecovative is also working on using their Mushroom Materials for a variety of building applications, including insulation, structural insulating panels and acoustical tiles. These materials have low or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds), are fire resistant, and perform similarly to traditional synthetic materials.

For more examples of bio-adaptive approaches to manufacturing, check out these sites:

Terracycle
Biomimicry 3.8
Ask Nature
Biohabitats
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Vauban
Osmotic power plants

As conscious consumers we need to be aware of developments in the field of regenerative design, and support those companies that live the principles of sustainability and circular economy.

Until next time...become the change you imagine.

Nature Knows Best

Biomimicry is the science and art of emulating Nature's best biological ideas to solve human problems. Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature states:

"If we want to consciously emulate nature's genius, we need to look at nature differently. In biomimicry, we look at nature as model, measure, and mentor. "

Nature as model: Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature’s models and then emulates these forms, process, systems, and strategies to solve human problems – sustainably. The Biomimicry Guild and its collaborators have developed a practical design tool, called the Biomimicry Design Spiral, for using nature as model.

Nature as measure: Biomimicry uses an ecological standard to judge the sustainability of our innovations. After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has learned what works and what lasts. Nature as measure is captured in Life's Principles and is embedded in the evalute step of the Biomimicry Design Spiral.

Nature as mentor: Biomimicry is a new way of viewing and valuing nature. It introduces an era based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but what we can learn from it.

Biomimicry is already a growing scientific discipline. Pioneering advances in agriculture, medicine, and manufacturing (just to name a few) are scientists dedicated to the principle that "nature knows best". Here are just a few of them:

• Thomas and Ana Moore and Devins Gust ( University of Arizona) are studying how a leaf captures energy, in hopes of making a molecular-sized solar cell. Their light-sensitive "pentad" mimics a photosynthetic reaction center, creating a tiny, sun-powered battery.
• Wes Jackson (The Land Institute) is studying prairies as a model for an agriculture that features edible, perennial polycultures and that would sustain, rather than strain, the land.
• Peter Steinberg (Biosignal) has created an anti-bacterial compound that mimics the sea purse. These red algae keeps bacteria from landing on surfaces by jamming their communication signals with an environmentally friendly compound called furanone.
• Bruce Roser (Cambridge Biostability) has developed a heat-stable vaccine storage that eliminates the need for costly refrigeration. The process is based on a natural process that enables the resurrection plant to remain in a desiccated state for years.
• Daniel Morse (UC Santa Barbara) has learned to mimic the silica-production process employed by diatoms. This could signal a low-energy, low-toxin route to computer components.
• A. K. Geim ( University of Manchester) has developed a glue-free, yet sticky, tape modeled on the dry physical adhesion of the gecko's "setae" ---tiny bristles on their feet that adhere to surfaces through Van Der Waals forces. The sustainability potential here is in "design for disassembly." Assembling products using gecko tape instead of glue would allow recyclers to disassemble products without adhesive contamination.

In her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Ms. Benyus talks about what is needed for a biomimetric revolution to take place. She says four simple, yet profound, steps are necessary:

1. Quieting human cleverness. (Acknowledging that nature knows best.)
   
2. Listening to nature. (Becoming ecologically literate by immersing ourselves in nature.)
   
3. Echoing nature. (Matching human needs with nature's solutions.)
   
4. Protecting the wellspring of good ideas through stewardship. (Safeguard nature.)

Learn more about biomimicry at the Biomimcry Institute and Ask Nature.

Until next time...become the change you imagine.