Ant colonies reveal how cooperative and collective action with simple rules leads to survival
Biology is the study of life, a body of science that has evolved from the study of plants and animals, Botany and Zoology, to a deep understanding of how the ancient inhabitants of Earth have evolved over 34 million years.
Homo Sapiens are newcomers with strange ideas of being the dominant species and using whatever we find in nature to “solve problems.” Dams, power grids, pipelines, bridges and highways, built with poor designs, giant machines, vast amounts of materials, and using high energy are failing.
We know more about quarks and leptons, the fundamental particles making electrons, protons and neutrons, the matter we see around us, but we ignore natural solutions like how ants organize and cooperate to survive.
Biomimicry
There is a lot we can learn from nature. Biomimicry is based on detailed observation of nature’s designs, the way Leonardo Da Vinci designed flying machines from drawings of birds.
Airbus is designing airplanes based on the proportions found in albatrosses and the drag-reducing capabilities of a sharkskin-style coating.
Ants work together to create rafts to ensure their colony survives flooding. They build chambers underground to store food, rest in, and store their eggs. Ants work using simple rules to solve complex problems.
Biologists are working with other scientists and engineers trying to understand how complex systems emerge. From bacteria, viruses and micro-organisms, complex structures emerge without central coordination. It all results from local interactions.
Missing the biodiversity of the forests for the trees
Biodiversity is the way of life, an interconnected web using sunlight and water to flourish. Biologists know about fungi and mycelium in the forest soil, the best carbon sink we have.
Sir David Attenborough, a prominent witness of nature, says the loss of biodiversity is the greatest mistake humanity has made, a silent killer that results from the use of chemicals and pesticides, and ignorant trophy hunters and poachers killing elephants and rhinos. Manicured lawns use high volumes of water and pesticides, destroy the native landscape, and kill insects, native plants, and bees.
Arkansas forests are full of trees that grow about 24-ft. tall, the length of the bed of a logging truck, sold by board-feet. We call them forests, but what we have are loblolly pine tree plantations where there used to be forests. “Forest” owners have a short lifespan, say an average of 75 years. Trees live hundreds of years but standing trees don’t pay the bills. If you let the trees grow, you end up with a real forest with thousands of different plants and trees of many types.
Arkansas Bioenergy
Not all “bio” words are about nature. Bioenergy and biomass are about burning U.S. forests shipped as “pollution” pellets to the UK, Japan, South Korea and other countries pretending to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from thermal power plants.
To avoid public comments and hide a dismal history of pollution violations, Drax Biomass wants to build three pellet mills under the made-up name, Arkansas Bioenergy!
Drax Biomass was in the news last month for violating Mississippi’s pollution permit and was fined $2.4 million. UK Drax has massive revenues and receives $1.4 billion in annual subsidies. Drax will ignore the pollution fine, the amount is insignificant and will not change their behavior. Additionally, Will Gardiner, ignoring the pollution, will keep saying Drax will be the first carbon-negative power station. Toxic particles inhaled when breathing end up in the lungs, brain and bloodstream, increasing the rates of dementia, killing rural minorities suffering higher COVID-19 incidence and mortality.
Taking Drax to court
COVID-19 has been on my mind. Why would Arkansas increase air pollution? I filed an appeal on behalf of the marginalized minorities at higher risk of dying of COVID-19 with the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, Docket 21-002-P to stop PM 2.5 air pollution and ground-level ozone.
Please follow the appeal – the truth will prevail over highly paid lawyers trying to dismiss the appeal.