Humanity stands at the edge of a new frontier. Earth is at a critical threshold and global society’s ability to master the sustainability challenge within the next decade will determine whether the world it leaves its children will be one worth living in. When U.S. President John F. Kennedy uttered his famous words about the “new frontier,” humanity was just beginning to develop tools to apply the systems thinking that had been crystallizing since the 1920s. In t...

Much needed and welcome growth is occurring in the business of looking to nature for ideas and inspiration on how people can make society function better. Initially, these adoptions seemed to come in the form of “ah ha” moments, as when a burr stuck to an inventor’s clothes gave him the inspiration to create Velcro. More recently, “green design” has tried to more systematically incorporate nature’s ways of doing things into buildings, furniture and spaces. ...

Agently meandering creek brings cool water to a southeast Wisconsin landscape scorched by record-breaking temperatures combined with zero rainfall. The farmer, taking a break from heart-rending work tilling under a failed crop in the droughty backfield, is refreshing his spirit at what has become a favorite spot. A flickering movement in a riffle near a groundwater spring catches his eye. His corn crop may have withered in the field, and his wife’s tomatoes may be dy...