Biomimicry by Design
As described by The Biomimicry Institute, biomimicry ”(from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a new science that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.” For example, people have created non-toxic adhesives inspired by geckos and energy efficient buildings inspired by termite mounds and [...]

Managing Bio-Distress through Sustainable Agriculture
On October 28, I had the opportunity to hear world-renowned environmentalist Vandana Shiva speak as part of the Ecology and Sustainability: Food and Agriculture lecture series being hosted by Xavier University’s Ethics/Religion and Society program this academic year.  Shiva’s latest book, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis (2008), links industrial [...]

How Living Systems Change
At the recent Pegasus 2009 conference in Seattle, “Now More Than Ever: Critical Skills for a Courageous Organizations,” I had the opportunity to hear Bob Stilger of The Berkana Institute and Teresa Posakony of The Berkana Institute and Art of Hosting discuss their approach to systems change.  In a session called “Whatever the Challenge, Community [...]

Innovation Part 1: What the Forecast Says
Innovation is the new watchword of the day. We say that, although the U.S. is losing manufacturing, tech support, and even tax preparation jobs to cheaper, overseas competitors, we still have the edge in good old American ingenuity and innovation. To keep this edge, however, we tell ourselves that we need to teach [...]

Obama Wins Peace Prize; GOP Sulks
I was thinking the other day about one of the drivers of change on our 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education. Paul Krugman reminded me of “Strong Opinions, Strongly Held,” in his column in the October 4 New York Times entitled “The Politics of Spite.” As a driver of change, SO,SH (as [...]