Biomimicry

Biomimicry

Humans are infants in the grand scheme of life.  Our biological elders have been here on earth much longer than we have, and compared to them, we still have everything to learn about sustainability.  –Janine Benyus

*We are a biological organism which means that we are nature.  So not to be confused, when Janine Benyus refers to nature, she means more than human

*Organisms have done everything we humans want to do without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet, or mortgaging their future.

Bacteria arrived 3.8 billion years ago, since then life has learned to fly, circumnavigate the globe, live at the top of mountains, in the bottom of the ocean, light up at night, make miracle materials like skin, horns, hair, and brains.

The wood frog can freeze solid in winter and hop away unharmed in spring, a garden snail builds its own highway of slime, a rhino’s horn heals when cracked, even though it has no living organisms.  These are all miracles of nature.  A rhino did not go to school and learn to heal his horn, a frog didn’t have to learn how to freeze, and a snail does not have to learn how to produce slime.  All of these come natural.  Humans have different types of natural miracles that we do without thinking about that makes us able to survive.  We breathe without thinking about it, when our eyes become dry we blink without thinking about it.  Cardiac and smooth muscle contraction occurs without conscious thought and is necessary for survival.  Examples are the contraction of the heart and peristalsis which pushes food through the digestive system.  A human has a natural brain capacity to do much more than this, and in turn, do more harm to the planet.  But we also have the capacity to do more good, it is up to us on how we use our brains, and to be more aware and learn more on how to live sustainable. 

          I believe the only reason some of humans behavior/actions are detrimental to a natural/sustainable life cycle, is that we humans have the capacity to learn and execute new ideas.  If a wood frog knew a way to survive through the winter without having to be frozen in one single spot, I’m sure it would.  If a gazelle knew how to use fire power, then it would do so on the cheetah before the cheetah killed him.  If other forms of life had the brain power humans have, then they wouldn’t settle for the natural strengths their creator gave them.  Humans have very complex brains that need stimulation.  Our creator gave us such brain capacity so that we can put it to use.  Our creator wants us to learn and create and build.  That is a natural part of life for humans.  I think for humans to go back to basics (caveman life) would be totally unnatural and a slap in the face to our creator.  We weren’t given this supreme potential so that we can sit on rocks and bang sticks together.  God wanted us to go to the moon, he wanted us to travel the world on airplanes, and he wanted us to do all of these things that we do.  That is why he wired us in a way that through time we were able to figure out how to do all of these things.