Nature has to be efficient in the way it processes information and uses energy so when scientists began to look at nature with biomimetic eyes, its not surprising that they started to see entirely new visions for our future. NatureÂs power stations are everywhere in the form of leaves. They run on sunlight and their main waste product is oxygen. Now scientists have succeeded in building an artificial leaf, which could produce hydrogen the fuel of the future powered by nothing but sunlight. And when we park out new non-polluting cars at home or work, what will the buildings be like? For that, scientists are looking at prairie dogs and termites. In Namibia we watch scientists laboriously fill a 3 metre high termite mound with latex, then, under the burning sun, shave away a few millimetres of the mound at a time and photograph it. The end result is the first ever complete 3D model of a termite mound, and it reveals some remarkable stories of how the termites control temperature, carbon dioxide and humidity in the nest. Understanding this, theres no reason why we cant build our own tower blocks on the same principles.