Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by Michael Braungart, William McDonough
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael Braungart, William McDonoughEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04-22
ISBN: 0865475873
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: North Point Press
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- ISBN13: 9780865475878
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Book Reviews of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Book Review: A surprising new paradigm
Summary: 4 Stars
This book came as a surprise to me: the authors paint a very different picture of environmentalism. It is so radical that I think I would have thought it a bit loopy if it weren't for the examples they give where they have put the principles into practice.
Wasting less, polluting less, using up resources more slowly -- that's not the answer, they say. The answer is to find a way to become part of a cycle in which the "waste" products are no longer wastes at all, but rather inputs to the process. This is of course what nature has done all along, and everything was roses until humans came along and started creating their own processes that are not cyclic.
It's a bold vision made tantalizingly real by stories of how the authors have collaborated with various companies to to do just this sort of thing, or at least to take significant steps in that direction. It's quite impressive, really.
The book is well written and requires no special background in environmental issues, manufacturing technique, or the like. It could be read by an average high school student. Interestingly, the book itself is an actual example of the kind of paradigm shift they advocate: it is, at least in principle, reusable. The ink, which is non-toxic, can easily be removed and the pages printed on again.
I do have some skepticism, though. First, on principle, I do still think that unchecked population growth is a problem, and no amount of trying to make manufacturing processes cyclic can change that. These techniques would certainly allow the planet to support a greater population than it could otherwise, but the growth is still a key problem.
Second, in spite of their successes I wonder to what extent we could actually do what they are suggesting. Nature does it, yes, but that is because all of the myriad life forms on the planet evolved together, constantly influencing and being influenced by each other. Is trying to fit some new process, something that must support manufacturing on a huge scale (think cars) into that, possible in general? I'm sure it can be done sometimes -- and I'm all for doing that! -- but is it really a scalable solution?
And is it really, in general, economically feasible? Yes, some forward-thinking companies have found ways to fit in better with nature and save money at the same time. That's wonderful! That doesn't mean, though, that it can always be done. If it costs 20% more to fit in better with nature, then what? Who pays that cost?
And the book itself -- it's very cool, really. The print is beautiful on the nice cream-colored pages, and I love the rounded corners (I wish all books had rounded corners!). But it's awfully heavy, and quite thick for the number of pages in it. I think if all of my books were like this, I'd need another bookshelf -- a sturdy one! And I can't imagine my son taking a backpack full of such textbooks to college. It's an interesting example -- really! -- but not a flawless one.
The book is definitely worth a read. It's a beautiful vision, and I am quite impressed with the authors. I hope my skepticism is misplaced. I especially hope that young people with an awareness of environmental issues will read this book; it may inspire them, as they go out in the world and help create new processes, to do something better.
Summary of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism"Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton
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