The world faces a critical juncture. Population growth puts immense pressure on limited resources, accelerating biodiversity loss and climate change. Unsustainable agricultural, transportation, and industrial practices contribute to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, pushing the planet beyond safe operational limits for humanity. The disproportionate impact on the Global South exacerbates the crisis. However, a new wave of optimism is emerging, fueled by innovative solutions outlined in this PLOS Biology collection. These solutions are focused on sustainable practices in agriculture, the development of biofuels, harnessing the power of microorganisms for various applications, and addressing the plastic pollution crisis.

The editorial references several studies that support its claims of the dire state of the environment. These include studies on biodiversity loss and climate extremes (Mahecha et al., 2022), planetary boundaries (Steffen et al., 2015), and intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes (Thiery et al., 2021). A previous study by Tanentzap et al. (2015) addressed conflicts between agriculture and the natural environment, setting the stage for the current collection's focus on agricultural sustainability.

This editorial is not a research paper with its own methodology. Instead, it acts as an introduction to a collection of papers, each employing specific research methodologies, such as: * **Jhu and Oldroyd [5]:** Exploring the symbiotic relationship between legumes and nitrogen-fixing plants to inform research on engineering self-fertilizing crops, likely employing techniques from plant biology and genetics. * **Cavelius et al. [6]:** Reviewing the potential of biofuels, using literature review and policy analysis methods. * **Howe and Bombelli [7]:** Examining the feasibility of microbial photosynthesis for direct energy production, relying on scientific literature, modeling, and potentially experimental data. * **McCutcheon and Power [8]:** Investigating the use of microbes for carbon dioxide capture and mineral extraction in mining, likely using microbiological, geochemical, and environmental engineering techniques. * **Ralph [9]:** Evaluating the potential of algae for carbon dioxide capture in manufacturing, combining knowledge of algae biology, industrial processes, and potentially economic modeling. * **Bertocchini and Arias [10]:** Studying insect-produced enzymes for plastic degradation, using biochemical and entomological methods. * **Ortiz [11]:** Reviewing the development of bioplastics from renewable sources, utilizing materials science, chemical engineering, and environmental impact assessment techniques.

The key findings of this editorial are not empirical findings but rather a synthesis of findings from multiple research papers. The key areas highlighted are: * **Sustainable Agriculture:** The potential of leveraging plant-microbe symbiosis to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers is emphasized. This is described in the work by Jhu and Oldroyd [5]. * **Biofuels:** Advancements in genetic engineering offer the potential for producing more efficient and sustainable biofuels, addressing the food versus fuel debate (Cavelius et al. [6]). * **Harnessing Microorganisms:** Microbes show promise in generating electricity through microbial photosynthesis (Howe and Bombelli [7]), capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide (McCutcheon and Power [8]), and creating industrial carbon sinks from mining waste (McCutcheon and Power [8]). Algae also presents a potential for carbon dioxide capture in various industries (Ralph [9]). * **Addressing Plastic Pollution:** Newly discovered enzymes from insects may aid in degrading resistant synthetic polymers (Bertocchini and Arias [10]), and bioplastics derived from renewable sources offer a potential alternative to traditional plastics, although their environmental impact requires further evaluation (Ortiz [11]).

The editorial stresses the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, requiring collaboration among biologists, engineers, economists, and social scientists. It highlights that technological solutions alone are insufficient; a holistic approach assessing environmental impacts across a product's entire life cycle is crucial. The collection of articles serves as a starting point for wider discussions and collaborations, inspiring a broader ‘greener revolution’ to build a sustainable future.

The editorial advocates for the development and implementation of innovative green technologies and bioengineering solutions to address environmental challenges. It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and lifecycle assessments for ensuring the sustainability of proposed solutions. Future research should focus on further development and rigorous testing of the promising approaches mentioned.

The editorial's main limitation is its nature as a commentary, not a research study. It doesn't present new primary data, but rather synthesizes findings from other studies. Additionally, the selection of papers presented is not exhaustive, and there might be other valuable solutions that were not included. The assessment of the long-term sustainability and potential unintended consequences of the proposed technologies needs further investigation.