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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- ISBN: 9780865475878
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149 Reviews
| From: Amazon Posted: May 19, 2008 Type: User Review |
Very informative book from two professionals seeking to discover , portray and resolve the perils of industrialism
This book is a compilation of research from two renowned professionals- biologist and architect- who seek to make us aware of what our senses are exposed to due to the use of and effects of toxic/chemical substances, unsustainable measures and...
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 5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 20, 2008 Type: User Review |
It's a good book in Amazon.
There has a lot of good ideas for our earth.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Apr 07, 2008 Type: User Review |
Innovative thinking
Living in France for the past 20 years, since 2005 I've been reading everything I can on man's negative impact on the planet. This book is one of the most complete works on how we can make a difference to modify our thinking and our acts. Many...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Mar 16, 2008 Type: User Review |
Essential Knowledge
This is such a wonderful, enlightening, and self-reflective book! It was reccomended to me by a good friend, and boy was he dead on with this one. "Cradle-to-Cradle" thoroughly outlines the essential flaws within the current industrial process in...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Mar 15, 2008 Type: User Review |
A must read!
Cradle to Cradle is a must read. The information is critical to the future of our little blue planet. I gained many wonderful ideas as to how to make my stay here on earth less damaging. While many of the concepts would be difficult to...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Mar 02, 2008 Type: User Review |
Important advancement but a preachy and brochure-like text
The concept behind this book is very important. It is an overview of a thoroughgoing design process that has, at its root, a deep commitment to biomimcry and essentialism in the creation of new things. To boot is a thoughtful (and I think...
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 3.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Mar 01, 2008 Type: User Review |
A Manifesto of (Practical) Hope
GET EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO READ THIS BOOK.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Feb 16, 2008 Type: User Review |
Cradle to Cradle is a MUST READ, and DO!
Some of the less than 5 star reviews are so nit-picky that they are laughable. This is the definitive green book of solutions around. It actually gives all of us, and most especially industry, a productive way out of our ignorant, polluting,...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Feb 11, 2008 Type: User Review |
Pandering to comfort minded consumers
I SINCERELY regret to say I couldn't have disliked this book more. The chapter on food -which discussed fabric and carpets more than calories- was particularly disappointing. If a sustainability expert cannot or will not admit that a meat based...
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 1.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Jan 10, 2008 Type: User Review |
A solution
its one thing to talk about a problem, its quit another thing to do something about it. I am glad to see the authors not only introducing a new angle to an ever growing problem i.e. the trouble with down-cycling, but also providing an alternative....
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5.00/5 |
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