Nature as Technology | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Nature's innovation over billions of years can inspire sustainable technological solutions in various industries.

Key Insights

• ⚖️ Nature's innovations, both large-scale (e.g., the Amazon River Basin) and small-scale (e.g., blade of grass), demonstrate the elegance and effectiveness of sustainable solutions.
• ❎ By imitating nature's innovations, industries can reduce their negative environmental impact and improve resource efficiency.
• 🍌 The technology developed by Appeal, which applies a barrier to fruit surfaces to reduce desiccation, extends fruit shelf life and minimizes food waste.
• 😋 Embracing nature-inspired solutions can address global challenges, such as food security, water scarcity, and environmental degradation.
• 💢 Integrating ourselves into the natural world and learning from its innovations can define the next era of human progress.

Transcript

I get to spend the next 15 minutes telling you about something that inspires me every single day and that is 3.8 billion years worth of natural innovation which is happening long before we got here is happening outside this room right now and will continue to happen long after we are here and at Appeal we use the natural world as an inspiration for... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: How can nature's innovation inspire sustainable technological solutions?

Nature has had a head start of 3.8 billion years in solving problems, so by learning from its innovations, we can develop sustainable technologies that work in harmony with the natural world. This approach can lead to more efficient and eco-friendly solutions.

Q: What is an example of nature-inspired innovation in the fashion industry?

A butterfly's wing has evolved to reflect only blue light by patterning the same material it uses to build its colorless exoskeleton. This natural innovation could eliminate the need for dyeing clothing, reducing water and energy consumption in the fashion industry.

Q: How has nature solved the problem of drag and energy consumption in marine transportation?

Sharks have developed a hierarchical structure in their skin that minimizes drag, making their movement through water more energy-efficient. This self-cleaning adaptation, evolved over 400 million years, could be applied to marine transport vessels to achieve significant efficiency gains.

Q: Can plants inspire sustainable fuel production?

Plants have found a way to turn the sun's energy into chemical fuel through photosynthesis. Additionally, they use molecular rotors to recycle spent fuel, allowing for the continuous use of energy. By emulating this process, we can create a fuel system that maximizes resources and minimizes waste.

Summary

This video discusses the concept of using nature as inspiration for technological innovation. It highlights the scale and elegance of natural innovation, from the biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest to the intricate structures within a blade of grass. The speaker emphasizes the importance of asking nature the questions it has spent billions of years answering in order to solve urgent problems in industries such as clothing dyeing, marine transport efficiency, and sustainable fuel sources. The video also introduces Appeal, a company that has developed a technique to extend the shelf life of fruits using nature-inspired technology. The speaker concludes by discussing the potential impact of integrating ourselves into the natural system and the future age that historians may define.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does nature inspire the technology developed by Appeal?

At Appeal, nature serves as an inspiration for the technology being developed. By observing and studying the natural world, the company attempts to understand and replicate the innovative solutions that have evolved over billions of years. This approach allows for the creation of technologies that work with and complement the natural world, rather than against it.

Q: What is an example of natural innovation on a grand scale mentioned in the video?

The video mentions the Amazon River Basin as the most biodiverse climate on the planet. Surprisingly, the biodiversity of this region can be traced back to the fertility of the soil, which is a result of nutrients being carried across the Atlantic Ocean from the Sahara Desert. The massive scale of this nutrient transfer exceeds the total amount of fertilizer used in current agricultural production.

Q: How does nature exhibit elegance and beauty on a small scale?

The video showcases the example of a single blade of grass. The cross-section of the grass blade reveals individual cells that resemble little bricks in a wall. These cells utilize floating green spheres, which act as solar power stations, to generate the fuel needed for growth. The cells can adjust the production of these floating power stations based on their needs. This elegant process of energy generation and utilization has taken billions of years to develop.

Q: How does the speaker propose solving urgent problems in polluting industries?

The speaker suggests that the way to address urgent problems in polluting industries is by asking nature the questions it has already spent billions of years answering. By observing natural solutions, such as the environmentally friendly way a butterfly attracts a mate or the efficiency of a shark's skin in minimizing drag, industries can learn from nature's innovations and implement similar solutions.

Q: What is the significance of plants' ability to turn sunlight into chemical fuel?

The ability of plants to utilize photosynthesis, converting sunlight into chemical fuel, is a remarkable innovation that has greatly contributed to the biological mass on Earth. Plants have evolved a mechanism that involves the use of molecular rotors to bring together spent fuel components and enable their reuse. This energy generation and recycling process occurs constantly in all living organisms, and it presents a potential model for a sustainable fuel source for humanity.

Q: How do co-evolved plants and animals demonstrate nature's adaptive solutions?

Certain types of fruit have co-evolved with animals to ensure their successful propagation. Animals are attracted to the deliciousness of these fruits and help spread their seeds. While these fruits may not have the characteristics desired in today's food system, they have developed a thin polymeric barrier called cutin as an adaptation for survival on land. This barrier prevents rapid desiccation of plant tissues and has been evolutionarily conserved across plant species.

Q: How does Appeal extend the shelf life of fruits?

Appeal has developed a technology that utilizes molecules from the non-edible parts of fruits to create a barrier that can be applied to the edible parts. This barrier reduces the loss of moisture and the oxidizing processes that occur when water diffuses out of the fruit and oxygen enters. By reducing desiccation, Appeal's technology extends the shelf life of fruits, allowing for longer storage and reduced food waste.

Q: What is the potential impact of reducing perishability in the food industry?

By solving the problem of perishability, Appeal's technology can have a significant impact on reducing losses that amount to trillions of dollars every year. It can also expand access to new markets, benefitting smallholder farmers in remote areas and allowing highly productive regions to reach new markets. The longer shelf life of perishable foods, like caviar, can make them commercially viable in places where they previously had a short lifespan.

Q: What challenges will humanity face in terms of food and water in the future?

The world's population is expected to grow significantly in the next few decades, leading to an increased demand for food and fresh water. If humanity continues to rely on traditional systems, it will require a 70% increase in food production and a 55% increase in fresh water usage. To address these challenges, the video suggests using nature-inspired technologies that utilize the materials and solutions that have evolved over billions of years.

Q: How can humanity be defined in the age we are entering?

Historically, human development and progress have been defined by the tools available to us. From the Stone Age to the Iron Age, societies have been characterized by the materials they had access to. As we enter an age where we can observe and utilize the secrets of the natural world through advanced technologies, it is suggested that our future definition may revolve around our integration into the natural system instead of opposing it.

Takeaways

The video highlights the immense potential of using nature as a source of inspiration for technological innovation. By observing and learning from the innovations that have developed over billions of years, industries can find more sustainable and efficient solutions to urgent problems. Companies like Appeal have already demonstrated the benefits of nature-inspired technology, such as extending the shelf life of fruits. If humanity embraces and integrates into the natural world, it has the opportunity to make a positive impact on our future and potentially redefine our age based on the utilization of natural solutions.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Nature's innovation, which has been happening for billions of years, can provide practical solutions for building systems that work with the natural world.

• Examples of natural innovation include the Amazon River Basin's fertility influenced by nutrients from the Sahara Desert, the efficiency of a blade of grass's energy production, and various adaptations in animals and plants.

• By asking nature the right questions, we can find solutions to urgent issues in industries, such as sustainable dye production, energy-efficient transportation, and renewable fuel sources.