I came across this organization and it changed the way I looked at progressive biology for environmental change.

From this website I was directed to the internationally recognized series of innovative talks, TED, for a talk that the director presented to the organization.

Check out the short clip here

Eben Bayer, the talker of this lecture, first outlines the dramatic affect that plastic based consumerism is having on our environment. He cites styrofoam as one of the worst culprits, filling over 25% of our landfills and its inability to be broken down naturally. He talks of styrofoam and its breaking down in the pacific trash gyre as a clog on Earth's respiratory and circulatory systems. Viewing the biomes of the world as recycling plants, human's introduction of plastics has created huge set-backs.

To counter the heavy dependency on styrofoam that modern lifestyles has created, Bayer introduces his innovation of mass agriculture of fungi mycelium to create a 100% sustainable and compostable alternative. To create the mushroom-root based foam-like product, he introduces a locally organized and distributed movement catering to regional preferences and availabilities across the globe. The mycelium, after filling with agri-waste like corn husks, literally grow into any shape or mold you need (see seconds 6:55-7:25 for a great example.) Once these products are finished being consumed you introduce them into a local environment and they act as natural, safe fertilizer.

What's great about this organization is the multi-faceted green approach to an incredibly overlooked dependency problem of styrofoam. With small, highly active facilities producing local products from local agricultural waste, a compostable solution is presented and a great argument is made. It was nice to see biological innovation being employed for a grave offense of humanity on the planet.