This post is the first of many from one of our new interns, Lizette Faraji, who will be contributing to our blogs for the Fall season. You can also check out her posts on our martial arts blog for Blue Snake Books.
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Sustainability and the Green Revolution are hot topics right now. Being eco-friendly is in, over-consumption is out. We hear about companies and individuals making efforts to “go green”—instead of personalized Hummers, now we have personalized reusable grocery bags. In order to supply this new demand, designers are currently experimenting with different methods of producing greener products. It is from these green designers that we get chandeliers made out of unwanted eyeglass lenses, or low-energy lightbulbs, or chairs made out of a single piece of plywood with practically no wasted material (think of a wooden jigsaw puzzle that turns into something three dimensional and usable). Designers are divided when it comes to technology: some believe that it can help make products greener (like the CFL lightbulb or the hybrid car), others believe that it is part of the problem. Those in the latter camp believe that we can turn to nature for answers to our environmental problems. And this is the idea behind Alan Marshall’s Wild Design: Ecofriendly Innovations Inspired by Nature.
The creativity in Wild Design is evident on every page: a sturdy intertidal dwelling takes inspiration from the intermingling carbonaceous and protein layers of an abalone shell—ideal for coastal dwellers faced with the problem of rising water levels; extreme sports participants can now jump from great heights and glide to the ground below thanks to the Hakea Glider, inspired by “helicopter” seeds—seeds with small wings attached that allow for the wind to carry them great distances and increase the plant population.
Solar Petals: just one of many innovative green ideas presented in Wild Design: The Ecomimicry Project
Lights in Full Bloom
Marshall, in his reflection on nature and our future, says: “If the industrialized world is to survive, then most environmentalists believe some reconciliation with ecological principles is vital…this has involved casting Nature into the role of both mentor and muse. But what exactly does it mean to learn from the natural world? Does it mean we emulate technological solutions found out there in Nature, or could we learn from less technical (more generic) principles, like rebirth and recycling? In this project, both approaches have led to insightful, and often rather playful, results.
Wild Design tells us that technology is neither the only problem nor the only solution, and that learning from Nature requires both emulation and inspiration.
So the next time you hear a news pundit or a CEO talking about greener efforts, think of learning from the original green designer: Nature.
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