{"product_id":"wouldn-t-life-be-better-if-plastic-didn-t-exist","title":"Can SILK Help Save the Planet? - 12 Aug 2025","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eRemember “There’s a great future in plastics” in \u003cem\u003eThe Graduate\u003c\/em\u003e? Well, decades later we are drowning in it. What if instead we made stuff out of materials produced by nature, that would be truly sustainable?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eMeet Fio Omenetto and \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eSILK\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e – yes, silk!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eThe stuff fashionistas wear. But Fio and his SILKLAB at Tufts University use it to make the planet a better place. A few examples of dozens of proven applications:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"\u003eo\u003cspan style=\"font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eBuilding silk drones that sniff viruses in the air;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"\u003eo\u003cspan style=\"font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eCreating protein glitter that reflects sunlight to efficiently cool buildings;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"\u003eo\u003cspan style=\"font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eCoating fruit and vegetables to quadruple shelf life;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"\u003eo\u003cspan style=\"font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eProducing shirts that “read” body chemistry for physical and mental triage.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eJoin us on August 12 at 5:30 pm at Burr and Burton Academy for a hands-on demonstration of how silk can change how the world works!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in; line-height: 18.4px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eFiorenzo Omenetto is a Tufts University professor of biomedical engineering, who founded and runs Silklab. There he combines silk --- the kind made by worms whose product typically shows up in upscale fashion --- with advanced design techniques that bridge biology, technology, and manufacturing to create a vast array of material solutions that are already making plastics obsolete. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Avenir Next LT Pro', sans-serif;\"\u003eRegistration is $20 per person.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"event-calendar-app","offers":[{"title":"Registration Fee","offer_id":44221062873279,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0634\/4723\/6799\/files\/unnamed_e556ccba-bead-40a0-80c2-ce679e3e8461.jpg?v=1746215248","url":"https:\/\/greenmtnacademy.org\/products\/wouldn-t-life-be-better-if-plastic-didn-t-exist","provider":"Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning","version":"1.0","type":"link"}