Mushrooms are pretty useful, aren’t they?
Maybe they’re even more handy than we realized.
A startup in the UK has found a way to use mushrooms to create a new, greener kind of home insulation.
No, you don’t just grow mushrooms inside the walls of your house, or eat them, Mario-style.
As Fast Company reported, the startup called Biohm uses the mycelium (sort of like the “roots” of the mushrooms) to replace the usual foams and fibers that typically make up home insulation.
The company says the mushroom-based material is actually more effective than standard material.
And, of course, it’s a lot more eco-friendly.
Production is carbon negative, there’s no need for volatile organic compounds or other chemicals that are found in some types of insulation, and when the mushroom insulation reaches the end of its lifespan, it can be composted instead of sent to the landfill – or reused in a new piece of insulation.
Officials with Biohm say they’re working on other types of green tech to make home construction and renovation more sustainable.
In a way, we’ll be growing houses almost as much as building them.
Meanwhile in and around Canberra, Australia, a company that delivers coffee by drone is having to rework its business model.
In the last few weeks, ravens have been attacking the automated aircraft as they bring drinks to customers.
It’s nesting season and the birds are exhibiting classic territorial swooping behaviors.
Or they’re Angry Birds and they think the drones are bright green pigs trying to steal their eggs.
Your next house could be insulated by mushrooms (Fast Company)
‘They think it’s Terminator’: Angry birds take down drone deliveries (Canberra Times)
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