Group+Eight+Presentation

[|humanrights.dcr]

media type="custom" key="554775" http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/18


 * "Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors." -- Jonas Salk - inventor of the polio vaccine. **

=__**12 Sustainable Ideas from Nature**__= Click here to view them

[|Biomimicry.ppt] [|Biomimicry with more images.ppt]

__**Who is the presenter? Why should we trust her?**__
[|Janine Benyus] Janine Benyus is a consultant for sustainable business leaders, author of six books and founder of the Biomimicry Institute. Her most recent book, //Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature////, discusses approaches we can take to develop technology based on observations of the natural world, with many potential applications. Benyus is devoted to preserving the environment while creating mutually inclusive solutions that improve technology without harming the planet. Benyus has been honored for her work as one of TIME International's Heroes of the Environment. //

__**Examples of real-life applications of biomimicry discussed in video:**__

 * [[file:humanrights.dcr]][[file:humanrights.dcr]][[file:humanrights.dcr]][[file:humanrights.dcr]][[file:humanrights.dcr]][[image:self_assembly.JPG caption="Example of self-assembly – molecules sprayed on metal surface to create beading effect"]] ||
 * [[image:Co2_feedback.JPG caption="Carbon dioxide used to create biodegradable polymers"]] ||
 * [[image:newcastle.JPG caption="Newcastle University's car collision avoidance program logo. They are developing a system based on the locust's visual neuro-system"]] ||

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 * MIT researchers and colleagues have created a waterproof adhesive bandage inspired by gecko lizards that may soon join sutures and staples as a basic operating room tool for patching up surgical wounds or internal injuries.**


 * Even the simplest car today can be filled with electronic sensors that monitor everything the car does from one fraction of a second to the next. Some monitors check how far the wheels are moving when you turn while others see what the car itself is doing when the wheels turn - if there's a mismatch, that's a problem.**




 * New, sustainable technologies include newfound, potentially earth shattering, or rather earth preserving plans to reconvert the CO2 emitted from car exhaust into oil. This would solve the problems of running out of oil and greenhouse gas overload in the atmosphere. This could be available in the next 5 years. [[image:file:C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMichele%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_image001.jpg width="396" height="396"]]**

One of Theo Jansen's beach creatures. The design incorporates as much biomimicry as possible so that such independent "living" machines can survive as long as possible on the beaches of the Netherlands. = = =The Nine Principles of Nature and Their Relevance to Biomimicry=

__**I**____**dentify the issue and describe its context. Why is it important? Why should we care?**__
The issue is learning to use nature’s ideas to help us, therefore helping the world. We need to learn to work with nature or nature will bring us down. We must remember that we are on a Taker plane and unless we turn back to Leaver territory, it will crash and burn. We are limiting our options by destroying the world and we must stop while we still can. In less Ishmaelian terms, we must borrow and incorporate ideas from nature -- which have already been perfected -- into our technology to make it less destructive for the planet.

__What philosophy or world view informs and supports the presenter?__
The philosophy of going with the flow supports the speaker. This is because we would be working with nature and taking things in a logi cal step-at-a-time approach by trying to understand the complexities of nature and then applying them to our lives. The speaker’s philosophy could also be similar to that of Mahatma Gandhi since she wants people to be their own change and collaborate toward a world goal. This woman seems to have a good background on basic biology, ecology, and a bit of biochemistry in there as well. It's good to note that her ideas seem very realistic and logic-based. Furthermore, she displays these innovations in small pieces rather than cramming it into one big technological advancement. For example, she'll present one specific idea at a time rather than discuss one giant plan for humanity.

Her philosophy seems to come out near the end of the movie clip as a "Keep it simple" kind of theory. She obviously intends to help mankind by presenting these new ideas for technology, but she's really helping both ends (man & nature) promoting interdependence. She embraces a mutually inclusive future where nature and human technological advancement can coexist.

__**How does the issue connect to your education and experience?**__
The issue connects to my education and experience in the way that we have learned a lot about biotechnology throughout the years. By learning to appreciate the environment, we can help the world and ourselves in applying its wonders to our own necessities and applying ourselves to the world. The issue connects to my education and experience in the way that we have learned a lot about biotechnology throughout the years. By learning to appreciate the environment, we can help the world and ourselves in applying its wonders to our own necessities and applying ourselves to the world.

__**What statistic, anecdote, and/or image do you find most compelling? Why?**__
The most compelling anecdote would have to be the one about the Galapagos Island workers who did not know that a seashell operated in the same way that they experimented for their job. This is because the anecdote demonstrated how well nature has adapted to its environment while we are still learning. We need to work with all the other organisms to help each other adapt.

__**What does this video make you wonder about?**__
This video made me wonder abo ut how much there is we do not know about nature- things we don’t even realize that we are not aware of. Just like the story of the unknowing Galapagos workers, we are still in a world of mystery and intrigue. Even devoting one’s life to uncovering the ways of nature would not lead to anywhere near in number what there is to discover. I love that nature is a constant learning experience and that it is something we all can relate and connect to as we are all part of an interdependent circle of life. - What will the future be like? How far away are these innovations from being regularly used and influencing our society? - Although she seems like a credible source, I can't help but wonder whether these ideas are as practical as Benyus says. She never mentions any drawbacks to any of these design ideas and it seems a little too good to be true. - Can these innovations revamp our society so as to completely stop our destruction of the earth or merely slow it down? (reference to Ishmael and the incredibly bleak future of the human race). - As children in modern times spend more time indoors with new technology, they spend less time with nature. How greatly will this affect the discovering some of the +30 million ideas we can take away from nature to help save our environment? - Will we be able to even study the technological wonders of nature thoroughly to better coexist with the world when so many different species are becoming extinct?

__**How does the video inspire you? How does it make you think about your plans for the future?**__
The video inspires me to find out more about nature and work to aid our technology in helping the world become a better place. The status quo of the "heat, beat and treat" system mentioned by the presenter is rarely challenged -- now that it has been another possibility for future development is open. Individuals considering the engineering fields might want to have biology as a background. If it is possible to implement the type of ideas presented in the video, radically new industries could potentially form. Although certain areas of industry might be less willing to transition, if we want to secure a good future a transition of this sort is mandatory. This would necessitate professions to accommodate the growth, which individuals like Academy graduates can fill.

__**How could the information from this video lead to making the world a better place?**__
The information from this video could make the world a better place by being disseminated to help companies develop innovative ideas to preserve nature in its greatest glory One of the biggest problems our world is facing right now is ourself. Humans are constantly injuring, manipulating, and destroying the environment around us, and if we want to inhabit it for many years to come we need to start making some changes in the way we treat it. This video talks a lot about the practice of using biomimicry, which is basically innovation inspired by nature. If we start building our world in ways inspired by nature, we can find ways to coexist with nature instead of fighting against it. We inhabit this world with billions our other brilliant species that have a lot to offer, and the more their world and the human world function together, the more sustainable we will become.

__**What one thing could you do, this week, to make a positive difference in this area?**__
One thing I could do this week to make a positive influence in my area would be to help spread the word about this video and to encourage students to study the life around them, visiting nature preservation areas and learning all they can.

__**How does the Glenbrook Academ**____**y of International Studies help prepare you for the future? How could the Academy serve you better?**__
The Glenbrook Academy of International Students helps prepare students for the future by teaching them that there are many different ways to look at things and that there exists no “one right way.” We should embrace ambiguity because it will follow us through life. We should learn to work with others and collaborate (as on this wiki) to change the world as we know it. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

__Identify and research a particular claim made by the presenter that intrigues you.__
Non-detergent washer: [|**http://www.design21sdn.com/people/3/posts/639 __**]

Identify and research a problem raised in the presentation.
Nature ® science: [|http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/giot-sae102805.php

**State a question raised by the presenter or implied by the presentation and research some answers.**
[|Why is the natural environment important?] [|Environmental science] [|New En][|vironmentalism]

**Research opposing views to the presenter's philosophy or work.**
[|Anti][|-Natural resources]

**State an****d research a question you'd like to ask the presenter.**
How do you feel about using the environment- not just its ideas- in new technology? [|How do you feel about cars that run on corn oil?] They could profit both the environment and our economy.


 * If your talk took place over a year ago, research any new developments.**