Archiving ancient corn strains to guard against genetic pollution? Coating chainsaw blades with mushroom spores to speed forest regeneration? Growing crops that literally suck heavy metals out of damaged soil? These are not utopian fantasies but proven strategies developed by experts who understand that working with living systems, rather than suppressing them, is the key to creating a sustainable future.

For this second volume in Sierra Club Books’ Bioneers Series, Bioneers founder Kenny Ausubel has gathered reports from scientific innovators in fields such as biomimicry (mimicking nature to restore environments and transform production processes); “living technologies” that break down toxics biologically; and ecologically sound design for industries and buildings. These are set alongside essays by visionaries like Paul Hawken, Terry Tempest Williams, and Michael Pollan that underscore the urgent need for working in harmony with nature’s intelligent design. Unlike the corporatized genetics that claims the name “biotechnology,” the true biotechnologies surveyed here illuminate a future of hope by “wedding human ingenuity with the wisdom of the wild,” in the words of contributor John Todd. Sector by sector—from energy and agriculture to transportation and land management—this book shows how we can emulate and adapt nature’s operating instructions to the benefit of all life on Earth.