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Tue Mar 4 16:45:48 EST 2008
improves upon
nature. Benyus introduces us to pioneering engineers making
technological
breakthroughs by uncovering and copying nature's hidden marvels. These
engineers
are
devising solar fuel cells as efficient as plants, fibers as tough as
abalone
shell,
and computers as sophisticated as the brain. For Benyus, though, a
technology
that
mirrors nature does more than enlarge human powers and gratify human
ambitions.
Such
a technology teaches us how to live in harmony with nature, rather
than how to
dominate it. Unless we learn this urgent lesson, Benyus warns, our
highly
unnatural
and exploitative technologies will soon render the earth unfit for
life.
Sobering
yet hopeful, this book will bring help bridge the dangerous chasm
between
technophiles and environmentalists. Bryce Christensen Copyright 1997,
American
Library Association.
Book Description : Biomimicry is a revolutionary new science that
analyzes
nature's
best ideas - spider silk and eyes, seashells and brain cells,
photosynthesis and
DNA
- and adapts them for human use. Janine Benyus takes us into the lab
and out in
the
field with the maverick researchers who are discovering nature's
ingenious
solutions
to the problem of human survival: studying leaves to learn how to make
microscopic
solar "power packs" that will clean up toxic spills and light our
homes;
harnessing
DNA's coding power to make blindingly fast computers; discovering
miracle drugs
by
observing what animals eat; and much more. The answers are there for
the
finding,
poem like in their elegance and economy. Anyone interested in the
people and
ideas
that are shaping our future must read this book to know where the most
exciting
revelations lie-literally all around us.
Synopsis : Biomimicry is a revolutionary new science that analyzes
nature's best
ideas--spider silk and eyes; seashells and brain cells; photosynthesis
and
DNA--and
adapts them for human use. Janine Benyus follows the maverick
researchers who
are
harnessing DNA's coding power to make blindingly fast computers;
discovering
miracle
drugs by observing what animals eat, and much more. Read this book to
know where
the
most exciting scientific revelations lie. --This text refers to the
paperback
edition of this title
Synopsis : Biomimicry is a revolutionary new science that analyzes
nature's best
ideas--spider silk, seashells, and brain cells, photosynthesis, DNA
and
eyes--and
adapts them for human use. Now, in the tradition of James Gleick's
Chaos comes
an
essential book for understanding nature's intriguing and ingenious
solutions to
planetary survival. Biomimicry is the quest for innovation inspired
by nature.
Biomimics are scientists and inventors who study nature's greatest
achievements
-
spider silk and tallgrass, seashells and brain cells, photosynthesis
and forests
-
and adapt them for human use. Their findings are revolutionizing how
we invent,
compute, heal ourselves, harness energy, repair the environment,
conduct
business,
and feed the world. In Biomimicry, science writer Janine M. Benyus
names and
explains this phenomenon that has been unfolding in all the science
disciplines.
She
takes us into the lab and out into the field with the maverick
thinkers who are
stirring vats of proteins to unleash their signaling power in
computers...analyzing
how spiders manufacture a waterproof fiber five times stronger than
steel...watching
electrons zip and pop in a leaf cell, converting simple sunlight into
fuel in
trillionths of a second...discovering miracle drugs by noting what
chimps eat
when
they're sick...studying the hardy prairie as a low-maintenance model
for
agriculture...and much more. From the Publisher In the tradition of
James
Gleiek's Chaos, an essential book for understanding our world.
About the Author : Janine M. Benyus is the author of four books in the
life
sciences, including Beastly Behaviors: A Watchers Guide to How Animals
Act and
Why.
She is a graduate of Rutgers with degrees in forestry and writing and
has
lectured
widely on science topics. She lives in Stevensville, Montana.
Excerpted from
Biomimicry by Janine M. Benyus. : It's not ordinary for a bare-chested
man
wearing
jaguar teeth and owl feathers to grace the pages of The New Yorker,
but these
are
not ordinary times. While I was writing this book, Moi, an Huaorani
Indian
leader
whose name means "dream," traveled to Washington, D.C., to defend his
Amazonian
homeland against oil drilling. He roared like a jaguar in the
hearings, teaching
a
roomful of jaded staffers where real power comes from and what
homeland actually
means. Meanwhile, in America's heartland, two books about aboriginal
peoples
were
becoming word-of-mouth best-sellers, much to their publishers'
surprise. Both
were
about urban Westerners whose lives are changed forever by the wise
teachings of
pre-industrial societies. What's going on here? My guess is that Homo
industrialis,
having reached the limits of nature's tolerance, is seeing his shadow
on the
wall,
along with the shadows of rhinos, condors, manatees, lady's slippers,
and other
species he is taking down with him. Shaken by the sight, he, we, are
hungry for
instructions about how to live sanely and sustainably on the Earth.
The good
news is
that wisdom is widespread, not only in indigenous peoples but also in
the
species
that have lived on Earth far longer than humans. If the age of the
Earth were a
calendar year and today were a breath before midnight on New Year's
Eve, we
showed
up a scant fifteen minutes ago, and all of recorded history has
blinked by the
last
sixty seconds. Luckily for us, our planet-mates- -the fantastic
meshwork of
plants,
animals, and microbes--have been patiently perfecting their wares
since March,
an
incredible 3.8 billion years since the first bacteria. In that time,
life has
learned to fly, circumnavigate the globe, live in the depths of the
ocean and
atop
the highest peaks, craft miracle materials, light up the night, lasso
the sun's
energy, and build a self-reflective brain. Collectively, organisms
have managed
to
turn rock and sea into a life-friendly home, with steady temperatures
and
smoothly
percolating cycles. In short, living things have done everything we
want to do,
without guzzling fossil fuel, polluting the planet, or mortgaging
their future.
What
better models could there be?
Customer Comments : A reader from NSW, Australia , December 11, 1998
More of
a
rave about unsustainability than about biomimicry The purported
subject of this
book is fascinating, however most of the book seems to be about
something else.
The
author lectures about current poor ecological practices (which were
"news" about
ten
years ago). I found very little in this book regarding actual progress
in
technologies that were inspired by biological systems. Rather
disappointing. A
reader from Atlanta, USA , November 23, 1998 Enlightening. The human
race may
have
a chance after all. Biomimicry gives an insight into where future
technology
could
take us without getting too technical on its explanations. Benyus
takes us into
a
variety of different natural world arenas and shows us how scientists
are
working to
use millions of years of evolution in our everyday lives. Mother
Nature is a
smart
cookie. We all should listen. --This text refers to the paperback
edition of
this
title A reader from Helsinki , July 26, 1998 Fascinating topic,
disappointing
book . Solar cells modeled after green plants, fibers stronger than
steel,
chemical
factories without pollution, ceramics as hard as abalone shell. Nature
has
invented
many things that outperform engineering feats, and this is book about
nature's
innovations. Biomimicry is a hard book to classify: it is partly a
popular
science
book (ca. 50%) but also a manifesto for sustainable development, a
collection of
mini-portraits of scientists, and wild speculation of future
engineering
applications. All of this is embedded in Benyus' personal odyssey of
figuring
out
what bio-mimetics is all about. Lack of clear focus makes this book a
difficult
read: in the middle, materials science exposee Benyus has decided to
describe
rock
climbing hobbies of some prominent materials scientists. A reader
from Ottawa,
Canada , May 28, 1998 This book will make you excited. The details
are complex
but
well explained, making for a very exciting and satisfying read.
Biomimicry is
elegantly written (not just a collection of separate chapters), with a
soft
personal
side to the story. The science will make you want to run out and
invest some
money!
Chapter on photosynthesis is life-changing!
Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
intergarden.com InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/permaculture PermaSphere
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO
lflondon at mindspring.com london at metalab.unc.edu
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