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Cradle to Cradle
Cover of Cradle to Cradle
Cradle to Cradle
Remaking the Way We Make Things
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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. But as this provocative, visionary book argues, 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?
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, William McDonough and Michael Braungart make an exciting and viable case for change.

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. But as this provocative, visionary book argues, 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?
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, William McDonough and Michael Braungart make an exciting and viable case for change.

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About the Author-
  • Architect William McDonough is an architect and the founding principal of William McDonough + Partners, an architecture and community design firm based in Charlottesville, Virginia; MBDC, a firm that assists companies in designing profitable and environmentally intelligent solutions; McDonough Innovation, where he is able to advise business and provide targeted ideas and strategic business solutions. A highly regarded speaker and writer, William McDonough's co-authored Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things has played an influential role in the sustainability movement. McDonough partnered with Stanford University Libraries in 2012, on a "living archive" of his work and communications. At the 2014 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, McDonough participated as a leader, presenter and convener, and made sustainability a primary focus, for the first time at the WEF. In 1999 Time magazine recognized him as a "Hero for the Planet," stating "his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world." In 1996, he received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the highest environmental honor given by United States. Additionally, in 2009, McDonough led the founding of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute to donate the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Products Program to the public. In 2014, William McDonough was appointed by the World Economic Forum to Chair of the Meta-Council on the Circular Economy.

Reviews-
  • Publisher's Weekly

    February 11, 2002
    Environmentalists are normally the last people to be called shortsighted, yet that's essentially what architect McDonough and chemist Braungart contend in this clarion call for a new kind of ecological consciousness. The authors are partners in an industrial design firm that devises environmentally sound buildings, equipment and products. They argue that conventional, expensive eco-efficiency measures—things like recycling or emissions reduction—are inadequate for protecting the long-term health of the planet. Our industrial products are simply not designed with environmental safety in mind; there's no way to reclaim the natural resources they use or fully prevent ecosystem damage, and mitigating the damage is at best a stop-gap measure. What the authors propose in this clear, accessible manifesto is a new approach they've dubbed "eco-effectiveness": designing from the ground up for both eco-safety and
    cost efficiency. They cite examples from their own work, like rooftops covered with soil and plants that serve as natural insulation; nontoxic dyes and fabrics; their current overhaul of Ford's legendary River Rouge factory; and the book itself, which will be printed on a synthetic "paper" that doesn't use trees. Because profitability is a requirement of the designs, the thinking goes, they appeal to business owners and obviate the need for regulatory apparatus. These shimmery visions can sound too good to be true, and the book is sometimes frustratingly short on specifics, particularly when it comes to questions of public policy and the political interests that might oppose widespread implementation of these designs. Still, the authors' original concepts are an inspiring reminder that humans are capable of much more elegant environmental solutions than the ones we've settled for in the last half-century.

  • Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club

    "Environmentalists too rarely apply the ecological wisdom of life to our problems. Asking how a cherry tree would design an energy efficient building is only one of the creative 'practices' that McDonough and Braungart spread, like a field of wild flowers, before their readers. This book will give you renewed hope that, indeed, 'it is darkest before the dawn'."

  • Hazel Henderson, author of Building a Win-Win World and Beyond Globalization: Shaping a Sustainable Global Economy "Achieving the great economic transition to more equitable, ecologically sustainable societies requires nothing less than a design revolution--beyond today's fossilized industrialism. This enlightened and enlightening book shows us how--and indeed, that 'God is in the details.' A must for every library and every concerned citizen."
  • Ben Ehrenreich, Mother Jones magazine "[McDonough and Braungart's] ideas are bold, imaginative, and deserving of serious attention."
  • Publishers Weekly "[A] clear, accessible manifesto... the authors' original concepts are an inspiring reminder that humans are capable to much more elegant environmental solutions than the ones we've settled for in the last half-century."
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Cradle to Cradle
Cradle to Cradle
Remaking the Way We Make Things
William McDonough
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