A biomimicry update from a fellow Biomimicry Institute board member, and long-time cleantech commentator Joel Makower.

Will biomimicry blossom, joining green chemistry among the burgeoning tools available to build the next generation of cleaner, greener products? It remains to be seen, of course, but biomimicry makes too much common sense to be dismissed as a niche or fringe activity. If we can marry the wisdom of millions of critters with human’s unbounded ingenuity, we’ll stand a chance of effectively addressing climate change, water and energy challenges, and the need to feed and house the global village. Continued…

And be sure to check out Joel’s recently published book: Strategies for the Green Economy:

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Fascinating program from one of my favorite radio shows/podcasts:

In Baltimore, Maryland, there’s an octopus that likes to play with toys. In Vienna, Austria, there’s a border collie with a vocabulary of 340 words - more than many toddlers. Southeast Asia is home to dozens of elephants who like to paint. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, re-thinking animal intelligence. Not only are they smarter than we thought – in some cases they’re smarter than us.

You can listen to the program here, but note you’ll need Real Audio player.

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One of the key things that attracted me to the field of biomimicry was that it showed in very clear terms the value of protecting biodiversity. I just heard the authors of “Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity” interviewed on PRI’s Living on Earth and thought it well worth sharing:

Variety isn’t just the spice of life…it’s essential for life. According to the new book “Sustaining Life, How Human Health Depends upon Biodiversity,” we need birds, bugs, and bacteria a lot more than they need us. We use them for medicines, biomedical and agricultural research, and new materials.

And from the book’s publisher: The Earth’s biodiversity-the rich variety of life on our planet-is disappearing at an alarming rate. And while many books have focused on the expected ecological consequences, or on the aesthetic, ethical, sociological, or economic dimensions of this loss, Sustaining Life is the first book to examine the full range of potential threats that diminishing biodiversity poses to human health.

Check it out now at Oxford University Press, Amazon or your favorite book seller.

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I’m feeling inspired after catching an interview on KPFA (starts at 96:25) with author and long-time activist Frances Moore Lappé. I recommend taking a look at her latest book “Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad”

“My book’s intent is to enable us to see what is happening all around us, but is still invisible to most of us. It is about people in all walks of life who are penetrating the spiral of despair and reversing it with new ideas, ingenious innovation - and courage.” Continued at http://www.gettingagrip.net/look-inside/

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I’ve always liked the look and feel of those richly illustrated and thoughtfully produced Dorling Kindersley books, so I was pleased to read about their efforts to be a little greener:

UK book publisher Dorling Kindersley has created an imprint that aims to ‘green’ an industry whose dependence on dead trees doesn’t necessarily make it an eco frontrunner. So far, four titles have been released under the company’s Made With Care brand. All deal with eco-aware topics such, including green baby care and organic gardening. …continued at Springwise.

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Joel Makower turns his attention to ’save the earth’ books and offers his trademarked wry commentary.

It will be interesting to watch the book unfold anew. A lot has changed — but in some ways not much has. People are still looking for answers — and simple ones are pretty compelling…

….Of course, Javna’s book will have to compete with all the others — a recent issue of the book industry bible, Publishers Weekly, listed no fewer than 70 green books coming out this spring and summer, many advocating easy ways to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. They include at least one derivative title — Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying as well as a spate of eco-fabulous titles: the Eco Chick Guide to Life; Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style; Green, Greener, Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-Smart Choices a Part of Your Life; Green Is the New Black: How to Change the World with Style; and Gorgeously Green: 5 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life.

Oh, right: and Green Living for Dummies.

With this abundance of green-is-chic books, will it be enough to merely “save the earth”? We’ll see.

Continue reading…

Have a favorite green book? Then share it with me…

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Making the changes necessary to avert catastrophic climate change requires us all to ‘get things done’. In 2007 I read David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” and took on many (if not all:) of his recommendations. A ‘weekly review’ is one of his key recommendations, and I get a weekly reminder with a tip to focus my attention…like this one:

Have you got any “stuff” that needs clarifying as a “project” for your Projects list? Anything that you’d call a “problem” right now that should be labeled a project, with a next action? Think about situations and circumstances in your world this week – anything emerge that still needs resolution or clarification? Make it a project – “Clarify…” “Resolve…” You don’t have to know how to clarify or resolve it to call it a “project” – just focus on the outcome, and get an action to move toward it. “It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

What projects are you committed to, and what are the next actions you can take to move ‘em along?

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