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ASIN : 0865475873
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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
Customer Reviews
Highly Recommended! (2004-06-06)  This is an extraordinary and unlikely book. It is not printed on paper, but on a waterproof polymer with the heft of good paper and more strength, a substance that reflects the right amount of light, yet holds the ink fast. It seems like an impossible fantasy, but so does much of what the authors propose about design and ecology. They speak with the calm certainty of the ecstatic visionary. Could buildings generate oxygen like trees? Could running shoes release nutrients into the earth? It seems like science fiction. Yet, here is this book, on this paper. The authors make a strong case for change, and just when you're about to say, "if only," they cite a corporation that is implementing their ideas. However, it's hard to believe their concepts would work on a large scale, in the face of powerful economic disincentives. We believe authors do aim some of their criticism at obsolete marketing and manufacturing philosophies, but the overall critique is well worth reading.
Interesting ideas (2004-04-26)  This book is a sometimes interesting, often meandering treatise on design. The authors, and American architect and a German chemist, have a very sincere desire to realign the world of design of objects and buildings so that they contribute to the betterment of the environment rather than destroy it. The title of the book "Cradle to Cradle" encapsulates their goal of designing objects that when they are no longer needed, naturally become useful inputs for the production of other objects rather than getting sent to the grave (or buried in a landfill). For example, they would like to see the creation of food packaging that could be thrown on the ground when the contents are consumed and would become fertilizer rather than non-biodegradable litter. (By this measure, the women concessionaires selling steamed rice treats in Indonesian trains are masters of design. The rice is both steamed and packaged in banana leafs, which are simply thrown out the train windows once the rice is consumed. But this practice also creates enormous problems- -since Indonesians have been accustomed to using such environmentally beneficial packaging for generations, they assume that "modern" packaging can be discarded in the same manner, much to the detriment of the Indonesian countryside. If you are living in a world of mixed packaging, some of which can be thrown out the window, and some of which must be discarded by other means, it's hard to keep straight which stuff goes where. That's a vital cultural issue that the authors don't explore here.) McDounough and Braungart list the goals for their design program. They challenge inventors and industry leaders to design factories that "produce more energy than they consume, and purify their own waste water," and products that "can be tossed on the ground to decompose" or become "high-quality raw materials for new products" rather than simply "down-cycled". At the outset, these goals can sound a bit far-fetched. After, all, a factory that produces more energy than it consumes would seem to violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. But what the authors really mean here is not that the factory would miraculously produce something from nothing, but that the design of the factory would include such things as solar collectors on the roof and devices to capture heat that could then send energy back out to the power grid, perhaps even in excess of electrical energy coming in. They illustrate their lofty dreams with concrete designs that they have helped develop and implement, such as a cosmetics plant in Germany whose wastewater is actually cleaner than the water coming in to the plant, thanks to the new chemical formulations they recommended. What's more, they point out that such design efforts can be even be good for business, since in this particular example, the company was able to cut costs on hazardous materials handling and storage enough to more than offset slightly increased production costs with the new formulas. Such design efforts are fabulous examples of the potential benefits of thinking "out of the box". The book contains quite a few additional examples of brilliant design ideas that can save resources as well as money. The book is also filled with surprising tidbits that haven't become general knowledge yet, like the potential hazards of wearing fabric made of recycled plastic bottles, and the fact that PET bottles were found to leach antimony when used as soap containers. The authors point out that the decision to use either recycled paper or virgin paper is not as clear cut as it seems- -while the production of virgin paper necessitates the cutting down of trees, recycling paper requires enormous amounts of bleaching, which produces PCBs. To demonstrate an alternative, the book itself is printed on a paper-free composite of plastics, which could be easily recycled into more book-grade plastics. The informative details and design goals of the book are quite interesting. However, the text often meanders around and through topics that are at best tangential or described better in other volumes. At times, some details or issues are also rehashed repetitively. In these places, it would have been better to focus on explicating McDonough and Braungart's own design program more fully. They've got some neat ideas that are well worth exploring, and it would have been great to be able to read even more about them and less about the general problems of environmental destruction that are described better in other books.
Every student of design should read this book (2004-03-06) I am a graduate student in a school of architecture that talks alot about doing 'sustainable design' and the 'green' architecture that has become a fad of late. This book makes the designer think not about efficiently designing buildings, but efficiently designing MATERIALS to eliminate the dangers that are inherent to the chemistry of almost every modern building product. It was an eye-opening read for me and has changed the way i think about 'sustainable design' and what the true goal of 'green' architecture should be.
Don't judge a book by its cover (2004-02-17)  The most compelling aspect of this book is the fact that it is a Durabook, printed on recyclable plastic "paper" that saves trees and results in waterproof pages so that you can quite literally take this book anywhere you go. It is too bad McDonough and Braungart didn't give as much attention to their narrative, which reads as a blatant piece of self-promotion. The authors have established a good reputation for themselves in recent years, successfully promoting their green ideas on Ford Motor Company, Nike and other high profile companies. But, this book woefully comes up short in terms of ideas, as it reads like a screed on green consciousness, rather than a helpful guide to gaining greater eco-awareness, especially in terms of the built environment. I was looking for at least one demonstration of their ideas in terms of resource material, but there is none. We are simply led to believe that McDonough and Braungart have carried out successful projects with green consciousness in mind. Contrast this with books like Ecological Design by Sim Van Der Ryn and The Green Skyscraper by Ken Yeang, and you will see what I mean. Van Der Ryn and Yeang provide vital information in terms of how they have successfully built sustainable buildings. Yeang maybe a little too heavily as he offers much in terms of raw data on his innovative high-rise buildings that readers might find tedious. But, if you are like me, these are the books you are looking for. Cradle to Cradle is little more than a clever advertisement for McDonough and Braungart.
environment vs economic arguments: obsolete (2004-01-17) I would like us to prepare our minds to begin working together to rebuild our world. This is the magnitude of Cradle to Cradle and eco-effectiveness. The era of environmentalists verus business is under attack because there is a far better way to love the trees and make more money. Humans becoming tools of Nature is the answer to the how question. I am very excited to begin engaging in full-scale peace instead of waging war on the children of the Earth, which we have been doing since the Industrial Revolution.It is time to show this strategy of hope to the world. It is time for universities to shift from studying problems and more problems to studying directions towards systemic solutions. It is time to wake up and give your heart a warm hug.http://wesley.stanford.edu/Multimedia/lectures/mcdonough.ramCheck out this intellectual thriller of the 21st Century if you are interested in the future. It is to be studied, critized and implemented.Study Cradle to Cradle. Cheers to you:)
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