Cradle+to+Cradle

__Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way we Make Things__ By William McDonough & Michael Braungart North Point Press, 2002

In this book and Branungart investigate the way humans make, use and dispose of the products of human industry. From the moment you pick up this book, till the time you set it down it is clear that you are handling something a bit different. The book is created from recycled plastic, not paper. It is waterproof! That is the first sign that the reader will be experiencing something different. The authors do not disappoint, from the very first chapter right through the rest of the book examines the products of modern life. The authors trace back through history studying and reporting on the industrial revolution and how it has shaped the way we use materials. The reader experiences and learns to look at products in brand new ways.

The authors’ argue the point that conflict between industry and the environment is not the fault of commerce but rather an outgrowth of opportunistic design. As industries grew during the industrial revolution the philosophy of manufacture, use and dispose of became a way of life. The authors’ suggest we live in a culture of “cradle to grave”, this being a one way flow from product manufacture through product disposal and what we need to move toward is a “cradle to cradle”. In the future the hope would be that materials will be manufactured incorporating our growing knowledge of the living earth, thus reflecting a renewed spirit of reuse. By studying natural systems designers employ the intelligence of natural systems—the effectiveness of nutrient cycling, the abundance of the sun's energy—they can create products, industrial systems, buildings, even regional plans that allow nature and commerce to fruitfully co-exist. The goal is to move to a future that is much more sustainable. The book was published almost ten years ago. I have to say I find it disappointing how little has changed in the way we manufacture, use and dispose of the products of human life.

Summary of the issues raised by this book… o Puts billions of pounds of toxic material into the air, water, and soil every year o Produces some materials so dangerous they will require constant vigilance by future generations o Results in gigantic amounts of waste o Puts valuable materials in holes all over the planet, where they can never be retrieved o Requires thousands of complex regulations to keep people and natural systems from being poisoned too quickly o Measures productivity by how few people are working o Creates prosperity by digging up or cutting down natural resources and then burying or burning them o Erodes the diversity of species and cultural practices

Summary of the future we should be working toward: o Buildings that, like trees, are net energy exporters, produce more energy than they consume, accrue and store solar energy, and purify their own waste water and release it slowly in a purer form. o Factory effluent water that is cleaner than the influent. o Products that, when their useful life is over, do not become useless waste, but can be tossed onto the ground to decompose and become food for plants and animals, rebuilding soil; or, alternately, return to industrial cycles to supply high quality raw materials for new products. o Billions, even trillions of dollars worth of materials accrued for human and natural purposes each year. o A world of abundance, not one of limits, pollution, and waste.