Janine Benyus

“Biologically inspired materials could revolutionize materials science. People looking at spider silk and abalone shells are looking for new ways to make materials better, cheaper, and with less toxic byproducts.”

“Nature works with five polymers. Only five polymers. In the natural world, life builds from the bottom up, and it builds in resilience and multiple uses.”

“The truth is, natural organisms have managed to do everything we want to do without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet or mortgaging the future.”

“Conserving habitats is a wellspring for the next industrial revolution.”

“Organisms sip energy, because they have to work or barter for every single bit that they get.”

“We're basically this very young species, only 200,000 years old. We're one of the newcomers, and we're going through the same process that other species go through, which is, how do I keep myself alive while taking care of the place that's going to keep my offspring alive?”

“For businesses, biomimicry is about bringing a new discipline - biology - to the design table. It's not to write an environmental impact statement, as most biologists in business do right now.”

“Life creates conditions conducive to life.”

“Life solves its problems with well-adapted designs, life-friendly chemistry and smart material and energy use.”

“Biomimicry is basically taking a design challenge and then finding an ecosystem that's already solved that challenge, and literally trying to emulate what you learn.”

“Per capita, I would say that Australia has more biomimetic projects going than many other countries I've been to.”

“Organisms don't think of CO2 as a poison. Plants and organisms that make shells, coral, think of it as a building block.”

“Hospital-acquired infections are now killing more people every year in the United States than die from AIDS or cancer or car accidents combined - about 100,000.”

“Trees and bones are constantly reforming themselves along lines of stress. This algorithm has been put into a software program that's now being used to make bridges lightweight, to make building beams lightweight.”

“Life doesn't use detergent to clean itself.”

“Biological knowledge is doubling every five years.”

“Deep inside, we still have a longing to be reconnected with the nature that shaped our imagination”

“Water is at the center of every chemical reaction, and therefore should be the earth's most precious gift.”

“There are literally as many ideas as there are organisms.”

“Glue actually contaminates recyclables. We throw things in a landfill just because they're glued together.”