The Scientific Perspective of Zero Emissions From biology to architecture, from the arts and humanities to economics, the scientific research behind Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives is dedicated to realizing various innovative ideas. While improving access to water, food, housing, healthcare, employment, energy, and education, it also actively enhances the environment. As people continue to envision a sustainable future that evolves with nature, ZERI has already established an information foundation. This foundation provides us with an endless source of inspiration, guiding us in the ongoing search for solutions to global challenges while meeting the basic needs of all species.
Five Biomimicry Design Principles
Biomimicry Design Principle 1
No species consumes its own waste; the waste produced by one species becomes food for another kingdom's species.
If a species feeds on its own excrement, it will degenerate.
When cattle farmers began feeding cows with the manure of other cows, they violated this principle—resulting in the outbreak of mad cow disease. Shrimp farmers made a similar mistake when shrimp were fed their own waste, leading to the white spot virus. While there are rare exceptions, such as dogs occasionally eating their own excrement, this behaviour strengthens and challenges their immune system. However, if an animal exclusively eats its own waste and behaves like a cannibal, it cannot survive.
If industries try to reuse all of the waste they produce, they reduce their flexibility and increase the risk of failure. One industry's waste should serve as an added-value input for another industry.
Biomimicry Design Principle 2
Any toxin produced by a species in one kingdom will either be neutral or serve as a nutrient for another species in a different kingdom.
As humans, we tend to classify toxins solely from our own perspective, assuming that what is toxic to us is toxic to all species in every kingdom. Similarly, we often view viruses as universally dangerous.
Cyanide and arsenic are well-known animal toxins, yet several plants produce these toxins and effectively use them to defend against predators. Apples and peaches, for instance, contain cyanide, but there’s no need for a “Warning: Contains Cyanide” label on them. If faced with an issue like cyanide contamination from old gold mines, planting an apple orchard would eventually eliminate the toxin—probably even before legal battles over liability and costs are resolved.
We cannot define toxins solely from the human (animal) perspective. Instead, we need to assess their importance from the viewpoint of all species across the five kingdoms. If a species attempts to eliminate all toxins within its own system, it risks degeneration.
Biomimicry Design Principle 3
Whenever highly complex ecosystems are functioning, viruses remain inactive or even disappear without passing through at least two other kingdoms and harming their species.
The reality is that viruses are kingdom-specific. If we apply the first design principle, viruses can be eliminated. The practice of boiling waste meat at slaughterhouses before feeding it to other cattle doesn’t always work because of this first principle. Prions, which cause mad cow disease, can survive high temperatures. To fully eliminate prions or viruses, the waste must pass through the other four kingdoms.
Over time, the use of antibiotics is harmful. While antibiotics can kill viruses, they cause significant collateral damage. A single dose of antibiotics can reduce gut microbiome efficiency for years, and chemotherapy can severely damage the digestive system. If we try to kill viruses within the same system, the species will degenerate over time.
Biomimicry Design Principle 4
The stronger a system's diversity and locality, the more efficient and resilient its operation becomes. As systems become more efficient and resilient, their diversity and locality also increase.
In simple terms, if non-native species are forced to become part of an ecosystem, they will degenerate. Plants and trees in temperate climates never find it necessary to introduce tropical fungi. Plants and trees that have coexisted and co-evolved with species from the other four kingdoms create the best and most efficient systems within the boundaries of their own micro-ecosystems.
Our global economy is interconnected, and we see that we desire anything, anywhere, at any time. This has increased the vulnerability of our systems because if one or two links break, the entire system may collapse. The stronger the locality of activities, the stronger the system becomes. As diversity increases, flexibility grows significantly, making a local system more efficient and resilient. Companies are now seeking local supplies and better integration into local economies. While global (outsourced) procurement, supply chain management, and customer relations are essential components of successful businesses, the ability to localize globally requires a new round of creative and innovative strategies.
Biomimicry Design Principle 5
All kingdoms combine, integrate, and separate materials under ambient temperature and pressure.
Spiders produce nylon-like fibres using raw materials at environmental temperatures and pressure. When tension decreases, the silk starts to degrade. The spider works at environmental temperatures and pressure, using fungi and bacteria in its system to control the process, with plant-based components as its food. Similarly, certain molluscs produce ceramics in cold water that are stronger than bulletproof ceramics. In nature, no one arbitrarily generates fire or alters pressure, yet products from nature often outperform man-made items.
The industry has built a supply chain management system that delivers components within very precise and uniform parameters. All assembly and disassembly require high temperatures and pressure, leading to pollution and entropy. The use of chemicals, temperature, and pressure speeds up production and facilitates standardization. On the other hand, creativity and innovation are the only ways to combine the best of both worlds. If the industry mimicked nature’s "inclusive" approach, it could achieve greater efficiency, lower costs, and significantly reduce energy consumption.
Though it may seem impossible today, this kind of creative approach requires a passion for thinking outside the box. It requires taking risks. This is the unique role that businesses must take on. When materials are combined and separated without considering the specific participation of all five kingdoms—beyond the energy provided by the sun—entropy will result.