William McDonough & Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make
things (New York: North Point Press; a division of Farrar. Straus &
Giroux, 2002).
(NON-FICTION)
Audio Version: Read by Stephen Hoye (Tantor Audio, 2008).
Reviewed by Wilda Morris
I sometimes feel as though there is no hope for the
environment. We are depleting and destroying a large proportion of the world’s
non-renewable resources. An ever-increasing number of people are within reach
of television programs and movies which project images of North American life
styles. Millions see and want luxuries they had not previously known existed.
Advertising encourages this phenomenon.
I read in Cradle to
Cradle that fabrics used in furniture, drapes and carpets contain dangerous
chemicals; our computers contain more than a thousand different materials,
including toxic gases, mercury and acids; and the shoes in which we walk or run
through the forest preserve (in order to enjoy nature) are leaving deleterious
substances in our footprints.
However, Cradle to
Cradle has given me a sliver of hope. “Reduce, reuse, recycle” is not the
right approach, the authors argue. It will not end the “cradle to grave” approach
to manufacturing which started with the industrial revolution. McDonough (an
architect) and Braungart (a chemist) have a different “design assignment.” They
believe it is possible to create:
“* buildings that. .
. produce more energy than they consume and purify their own waste water
* factories that
produce effluents that are drinking water
* products that. . .
do not become useless waste but can be tossed onto the ground to decompose and
become food for plants and animals and nutrients for soil; or, alternately,
that can return to industrial cycles to supply high-quality raw materials for
new products
. . .
* transportation that
improves the quality of life while delivering goods and services
* a world of
abundance, not one of limits, pollution, and waste.” (Pp. 90-91)
The authors use the image of the cherry tree, which produces
more blossoms and fruit than needed, but this “waste” is converted into
nutrients for its environment. If you do not believe the vision embodied by
McDonough’s and Braungart’s design assignment is possible, I encourage you to
read Cradle to Cradle (or listen to
the book on CD). You will learn about projects already completed or underway which
join the best intentions of environmentalists and manufacturers. You may not agree
with everything you read, but the book may help you envision a new approach to
protecting the environment.
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