These are spinneret glands

我想先講幾個簡單的例子

on the abdomen of a spider.

這些是蜘蛛吐絲的腺體

They produce six different types of silk, which is spun together into a fiber,

位在蜘蛛的上腹部

tougher than any fiber humans have ever made.

他們可以分泌出六種不同的絲變成纖維

The nearest we've come is with aramid fiber.

這比任何人類製作出的纖維還要強韌

And to make that, it involves extremes of temperature,

最接近這種特性的要算是芳綸纖維

extremes of pressure and loads of pollution.

要作出這樣的纖維需要極端的溫度

And yet the spider manages to do it at ambient temperature and pressure

極端的壓力和大量的污染

with raw materials of dead flies and water.

然而蜘蛛卻能在一般環境的溫度和壓力

It does suggest we've still got a bit to learn.

運用死掉蒼蠅和水當作原料做出來這種纖維

This beetle can detect a forest fire at 80 kilometers away.

它說明了我們還有需要學習的東西

That's roughly 10,000 times the range

這種甲蟲可以偵測到遠在80公里森林火災

of man-made fire detectors.

這大約是 10,000倍

And what's more, this guy doesn't need a wire

人造火災探測器所能偵測的範圍

connected all the way back to a power station burning fossil fuels.

更重要的是，這小昆蟲不需要電線

So these two examples give a sense of what biomimicry can deliver.

連接燃燒燃料的發電站

If we could learn to make things and do things the way nature does,

這兩個例子說明了生物模擬是值得學習的

we could achieve factor 10, factor 100,

如果我們能學會大自然的方式

maybe even factor 1,000 savings

我們可以達到10倍，100倍

in resource and energy use.

甚至是1,000倍的

And if we're to make progress with the sustainability revolution,

節約資源和能源

I believe there are three really big changes

如果我們要有所進步達到永續發展

we need to bring about.

我認為有三個非常大的變化

Firstly, radical increases in resource efficiency.

是我們需要的

Secondly, shifting from a linear, wasteful,

第一，提高基本資源使用效率

polluting way of using resources

第二，把線性的，浪費的，

to a closed-loop model.

污染的資源使用方式

And thirdly, changing from a fossil fuel economy

轉變成一個封閉的循環模式

to a solar economy.

第三，從礦物燃料經濟

And for all three of these, I believe,

轉變成太陽能經濟

biomimicry has a lot of the solutions that we're going to need.

而對於這三點，我認為

You could look at nature as being like a catalog of products,

生物模擬提供很多的解決方法是我們需要的

and all of those have benefited

你可以看一下大自然把它當作是樣本

from a 3.8-billion-year research and development period.

所有的東西都來自於

And given that level of investment, it makes sense to use it.

3.8億年的研究和發展的累積

So I'm going to talk about some projects that have explored these ideas.

如果就投資來說，運用這樣的概念是可行的

And let's start with radical increases

所以我要談談一些計畫，也探討這些想法

in resource efficiency.

我們從第一點開始談

When we were working on the Eden Project,

提高基本資源使用效率

we had to create a very large greenhouse

當我們開始執行伊甸園計劃時

in a site that was not only irregular,

我們必須蓋一座非常大的溫室

but it was continually changing because it was still being quarried.

在一個不僅不規則

It was a hell of a challenge,

而且不斷變化的地方，因為這個地方仍在開採

and it was actually examples from biology

這是一個地獄般的挑戰

that provided a lot of the clues.

不過它實際上是運用生物學的例子

So for instance,

這提供了很多線索

it was soap bubbles that helped us generate a building form

例如

that would work regardless of the final ground levels.

這參考肥皂泡泡的樣子，規劃出建築物的外觀

Studying pollen grains

不管最後地面高度多高都能做到

and radiolaria and carbon molecules

研究花粉

helped us devise the most efficient structural solution

和放射蟲類和碳分子

using hexagons and pentagons.

幫助我們做出最有效的結構設計

The next move was that we wanted

運用六邊形和五邊形

to try and maximize the size of those hexagons.

下一步是我們想要

And to do that we had to find an alternative to glass,

把六邊形做到最大

which is really very limited in terms of its unit sizes.

要做到這點我們必須用可替代玻璃的材質

And in nature there are lots of examples

不過這材質能夠用的單位面積也相當受限

of very efficient structures based on pressurized membranes.

在自然界中非常多的例子

So we started exploring this material called ETFE.

都能有效用在結構設計上，像是加壓膜技術

It's a high-strength polymer.

因此我們開始探索ETFE這種材料

And what you do is you put it together in three layers,

這是一種高強度聚合物

you weld it around the edge, and then you inflate it.

而我們把它做成三層

And the great thing about this stuff

把它周圍邊緣焊接起來，然後充氣

is you can make it in units

這東西最了不起的地方是

of roughly seven times the size of glass,

它的每一個單位

and it was only one percent of the weight of double-glazing.

可以大約是玻璃的七倍大

So that was a factor-100 saving.

重量卻只有雙層玻璃的百分之一

And what we found is that we got into a positive cycle

所以這算是100倍的節約資源

in which one breakthrough facilitated another.

我們也發現到這帶動起良性循環

So with such large, lightweight pillows,

新發現又會帶來另一個新發現

we had much less steel.

在這樣大又輕的支撐下

With less steel we were getting more sunlight in,

我們也能減少鋼材的使用

which meant we didn't have to put as much extra heat in winter.

少一點鋼材，陽光就能多一點進來

And with less overall weight in the superstructure,

換句話說，在冬天我們不用儲備太多的熱能

there were big savings in the foundations.

加上在建築上層的整體重量也減少

And at the end of the project we worked out

所以地基的建材也能節省許多

that the weight of that superstructure

在這項計畫完成的時候，我們發現

was actually less than the weight of the air inside the building.

上層建築的重量

So I think the Eden Project is a fairly good example

實際上低於建築物內空氣的重量

of how ideas from biology

我認為伊甸園計劃是個相當好的例子

can lead to radical increases in resource efficiency --

說明從生物學學到的想法

delivering the same function,

可以做到提高基本資源使用效率

but with a fraction of the resource input.

在提供相同的功能

And actually there are loads of examples in nature

達到事半功倍的效果

that you could turn to for similar solutions.

實際上大自然中有非常多這樣的例子

So for instance, you could develop super-efficient roof structures

是我們可以找到類似的解決方法

based on giant Amazon water lilies,

例如我們能蓋出高效能的屋頂結構

whole buildings inspired by abalone shells,

參考亞馬遜巨頭睡蓮的樣子

super-lightweight bridges inspired by plant cells.

整個建築靈感來自鮑魚殼

There's a world of beauty and efficiency to explore here

超輕量橋樑設計靈感來自於植物細胞

using nature as a design tool.

這個既美麗又有效率的世界值得探索

So now I want to go onto talking about the linear-to-closed-loop idea.

運用大自然當作設計的工具

The way we tend to use resources

現在我要說明的如何從線性轉變成封閉式循環

is we extract them,

我們使用資源的方式

we turn them into short-life products and then dispose of them.

是我們開採資源

Nature works very differently.

把資源做成生命週期短的產品，然後用完即丟

In ecosystems, the waste from one organism

但大自然的法則不是這樣的

becomes the nutrient for something else in that system.

在生態系統裡每一種生物的廢棄物

And there are some examples of projects

會轉變成另一種生物的營養來源

that have deliberately tried to mimic ecosystems.

還有其他例子

And one of my favorites

是刻意模仿生態系統

is called the Cardboard to Caviar Project

其中一項我最喜歡的是

by Graham Wiles.

"從紙板到魚子醬"的計畫

And in their area they had a lot of shops and restaurants

由Graham Wiles所做的

that were producing lots of food, cardboard and plastic waste.

在他們那個地區有非常多商店和餐廳

It was ending up in landfills.

造成許多食物、紙板和塑膠的廢棄物

Now the really clever bit is what they did with the cardboard waste.

這些廢棄物最終都會到垃圾掩埋場

And I'm just going to talk through this animation.

但現在他們比較聰明會另外處理廢紙板

So they were paid to collect it from the restaurants.

我利用這個動畫跟你們解釋

They then shredded the cardboard

他們負責從餐廳回收這些紙板

and sold it to equestrian centers as horse bedding.

然後把紙板碾碎

When that was soiled, they were paid again to collect it.

賣給了馬術中心用作馬匹休息的墊草

They put it into worm recomposting systems,

等到這些墊草髒了，他們再負責去回收

which produced a lot of worms, which they fed to Siberian sturgeon,

接著把這些髒的墊草用來培育蠕蟲

which produced caviar, which they sold back to the restaurants.

這樣可以繁殖出許多的蠕蟲，這些蠕蟲就拿來餵食西伯利亞鱘魚

So it transformed a linear process

鱘魚生產出魚子醬，魚子醬再賣回去給餐廳

into a closed-loop model,

這樣的過程就是從線性

and it created more value in the process.

轉變成一個封閉式的循環

Graham Wiles has continued to add more and more elements to this,

每一個過程都創造出更多的價值

turning waste streams into schemes that create value.

Graham Wiles不斷加入更多的元素到這個循環

And just as natural systems

讓廢棄物在這個計劃中創造出價值

tend to increase in diversity and resilience over time,

就像是自然生態一樣

there's a real sense with this project

長期下來能增加多樣性和適應性

that the number of possibilities

這是計劃真正的目的

just continue increasing.

也就是創造出更多的可能性

And I know it's a quirky example,

而且不斷地增加價值

but I think the implications of this are quite radical,

我知道這是一個奇特的例子

because it suggests that we could actually

但我認為這是相當有效的影響

transform a big problem -- waste -- into a massive opportunity.

因為這實際上

And particularly in cities --

可以讓我們把大的問題變成大的機會

we could look at the whole metabolism of cities,

特別在某些城市

and look at those as opportunities.

要處理垃圾問題

And that's what we're doing on the next project I'm going to talk about,

就能運用這樣的概念

the Mobius Project,

這也是我接下來要談的另一個計畫

where we're trying to bring together a number of activities,

莫比烏斯(Mobius)計畫

all within one building,

也就是許多的活動

so that the waste from one can be the nutrient for another.

都能在同一棟建築物裡完成

And the kind of elements I'm talking about

所以每一種廢棄物都能變成原料

are, firstly, we have a restaurant inside a productive greenhouse,

我要講的概念是

a bit like this one in Amsterdam called De Kas.

首先，我們在溫室裡有一間餐廳

Then we would have an anaerobic digester,

這有點像在阿姆斯特丹的De Kas溫室餐廳

which could deal with all the biodegradable waste from the local area,

然後我們在裡面設了一座無氧消化器

turn that into heat for the greenhouse

能處理當地所有可生物分解的廢棄物

and electricity to feed back into the grid.

再轉變成溫室的熱能

We'd have a water treatment system

和電力回饋到輸電網

treating wastewater, turning that into fresh water

我們有汙水處理系統

and generating energy from the solids

把廢水變成乾淨的水

using just plants and micro-organisms.

從固體產生能量

We'd have a fish farm fed with vegetable waste from the kitchen

只利用一些植物和微生物

and worms from the compost

我們有一個養魚池，用廚房的廚餘當作飼料

and supplying fish back to the restaurant.

還有堆肥裡的蠕蟲

And we'd also have a coffee shop, and the waste grains from that

拿這些拿來餵魚，魚再供應給餐廳

could be used as a substrate for growing mushrooms.

還會有一個咖啡廳，不要的咖啡渣

So you can see that we're bringing together

可以做成種植蘑菇的培養土

cycles of food, energy and water and waste

我們把這些想法結合在一起

all within one building.

成為一個食物、能源、水和廢棄物的循環

And just for fun, we've proposed this for a roundabout in central London,

這通通發生在同一棟建築物裡

which at the moment is a complete eyesore.

這挺有趣的，我們也針對倫敦市中心一個圓環提出這項計畫

Some of you may recognize this.

因為這個圓環目前要算是政府的眼中釘

And with just a little bit of planning,

你們有些人可能認得這個地方

we could transform a space dominated by traffic

運用一點點的規劃

into one that provides open space for people,

我們可以把一個以交通為主的空間

reconnects people with food

轉變成可以提供給民眾的開放空間

and transforms waste into closed loop opportunities.

讓人與食物重新有交集

So the final project I want to talk about

讓廢棄物可以在封閉式循環中得到不同的處置

is the Sahara Forest Project, which we're working on at the moment.

我要談的最後一項計畫是

It may come as a surprise to some of you

撒哈拉造林工程計畫，這是我們現階段正在努力做的

to hear that quite large areas of what are currently desert

這可能對在座的某些人來說

were actually forested a fairly short time ago.

聽到這消息有點驚訝，因為這一大片地方目前是沙漠

So for instance, when Julius Caesar arrived in North Africa,

但事實上這地方在不久之前其實有座森林

huge areas of North Africa

例如當凱撒抵達北非的時候

were covered in cedar and cypress forests.

在北非有一大片區域

And during the evolution of life on the Earth,

被雪松和柏樹森林給覆蓋

it was the colonization

在地球開始繁衍出生命的時候

of the land by plants

土地都被占據

that helped create the benign climate we currently enjoy.

被植物給佔據

The converse is also true.

這有助於發展出適合居住的良好氣候

The more vegetation we lose,

反過來也是如此

the more that's likely to exacerbate climate change

我們失去越多土地上的植被

and lead to further desertification.

越可能加劇氣候變遷

And this animation,

導致進一步的沙漠化

this shows photosynthetic activity over the course of a number of years,

這個動畫顯示了

and what you can see is that the boundaries of those deserts

數年來的光合作用的活動

shift quite a lot,

我們可以看到這些沙漠的範圍

and that raises the question

他們變化很大

of whether we can intervene at the boundary conditions

這引發了一個問題

to halt, or maybe even reverse, desertification.

我們是否能干預沙漠的界線

And if you look at some of the organisms

去限制或是讓沙漠化的土地回復原本的樣子

that have evolved to live in deserts,

你看一些生物

there are some amazing examples of adaptations to water scarcity.

可以適應在沙漠生活

This is the Namibian fog-basking beetle,

在適應缺水問題時也有一些令人驚訝的例子

and it's evolved a way of harvesting its own fresh water in a desert.

這是納米比亞的沐霧甲蟲

The way it does this is it comes out at night,

牠自己演化出可以在沙漠收集淡水的方法

crawls to the top of a sand dune,

牠的方式是牠在夜間出來活動

and because it's got a matte black shell,

爬到沙丘上頭

is able to radiate heat out to the night sky

因為他的粗糙黑色外殼

and become slightly cooler than its surroundings.

能夠在夜晚散發熱能

So when the moist breeze blows in off the sea,

又能比其周圍環境低溫

you get these droplets of water forming on the beetle's shell.

因此，當海上吹起了潮濕的微風

Just before sunrise, he tips his shell up, the water runs down into his mouth,

甲蟲的殼就能讓水滴凝結在上面

has a good drink, goes off and hides for the rest of the day.

在日出前，牠把身體抬高，水就能流進嘴裡

And the ingenuity, if you could call it that,

喝一口水，然後躲起來好好休息的一天

goes even further.

如果要說，這是大自然的智慧

Because if you look closely at the beetle's shell,

更進一步看

there are lots of little bumps on that shell.

如果仔細觀察甲蟲的外殼

And those bumps are hydrophilic; they attract water.

外殼上有許多小的突起物

Between them there's a waxy finish which repels water.

而那些突起物具有親水性，能吸引水

And the effect of this is that

在每個突起物間有像臘一樣的溝槽可以排水

as the droplets start to form on the bumps,

這個作用是

they stay in tight, spherical beads,

水滴在這些突起物上形成時

which means they're much more mobile

水分會緊密而且呈現水珠狀

than they would be if it was just a film of water over the whole beetle's shell.

所以更具流動性

So even when there's only a small amount of moisture in the air,

比起甲蟲殼上有一整片的水來的更容易移動

it's able to harvest that very effectively and channel it down to its mouth.

因此即使當空氣中只有少量的水分

So amazing example of an adaptation

它仍然能夠非常有效的獲取水分讓水流到口裡

to a very resource-constrained environment --

這是一個在適應上非常驚人的例子

and in that sense, very relevant

一個資源相當有限的環境

to the kind of challenges we're going to be facing

這和我們是非常類似的

over the next few years, next few decades.

我們要面對的挑戰

We're working with the guy who invented the Seawater Greenhouse.

在未來幾年，或幾十年

This is a greenhouse designed for arid coastal regions,

我們正與一位發明了海水溫室的人合作

and the way it works is that you have this whole wall of evaporator grills,

這是一種在乾旱沿海地區做的溫室設計

and you trickle seawater over that

這運作的方式是裡頭有整座蒸發器架

so that wind blows through, it picks up a lot of moisture

讓海水滴流過這裡

and is cooled in the process.

讓風吹過收集很多的水分

So inside it's cool and humid,

然後在過程中冷卻

which means the plants need less water to grow.

所以裡面是涼爽和潮濕的

And then at the back of the greenhouse,

適合不太需要水的植物生長

it condenses a lot of that humidity as freshwater

在溫室後方

in a process that is effectively identical to the beetle.