Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things Paperback – April 22, 2002

Is the title of my review hyperbole? I would submit that it is not. What this book represents is, in my opinion, the first clear articulation of the fundamental reason why humankind has reached an environmental crisis point where we either adapt, change, and flourish; or are swept clean (or at best decimated and reduced to barbarism) from this world as a failed species.However, this book is not about deprivation; its not about returning to 'Walden Pond' and renouncing growth, innovation, technology, and an advanced (and advancing) civilization. William McDonough and Michael Braungart's articulated vision is that through elegant, effective, integral, and enlightened design, we can fundamentally change the underlying paradigm via which the material objects of civilization are created; that through such a paradigm shift we can abolish *waste* by designing all systems whereby 'waste equals food' in all systems of civilization.To date, mankind has operated within a design paradigm whereby designers of systems, products, and materials, assumed that we could "throw something AWAY"; and were the forces of time and nature, at those places which they consider to be *AWAY* enough, would prove capable of rendering the undesirable byproducts of our creation and consumption back into a 'natural', safe, and again desirable, state. Such design assumptions may have been viable until the advent of the industrial age, but are no longer valid. Since we discovered how to burn coal, forge steel, concentrate heavy metals, and synthesize plastics, we have been inexorably moving towards this point in time and this crisis.This book drives home the point that there is no longer any viable *AWAY* towards which mankind might, in place of adequate design, throw away the ever increasing quantities of undesirable byproducts of the 'metabolism' of our civilization. Moreover, the authors point out that these 'metabolites' of civilization are such that there must be a differentiation, and separation, between a 'natural cycle of reuse' (which consists of materials and objects that can be naturally broken down into safe components through time, sunlight, oxidation, etc.) and a 'technical cycle of reuse' (which includes materials and objects which cannot, through being concentrated and/or synthesized by mankind, be safely broken down by natural processes and must therefore be technically reprocessed). It is this very mixing of component cycles that has yielded so much disease and suffering in the world; the dioxins, the mercury levels, the myriad mutagens and toxins now pervading our environment.This book is not a work of pessimism and "we are doomed" extremism; it is a book filled with an honest faith in Mankind's ability blaze a new path towards the reconciliation, through design excellence, of environmental stewardship and a high technical, and economically vibrant, civilization. However, it is not by any means, a pollyanna of unfounded optimism and the authors pull no punches regarding what's broken, the seriousness of the problems we face, and a path towards recovery.In closing, this book is tremendously important because it represents a manifesto for a movement to revolutionize design and inspire designers and empower entrepreneurs who see opportunity in the advent of this design paradigm shift. I must say, that it is one of the most encouraging books I have read in recent memory and it has galvanized me into becoming an activist and evangelist of the Cradle-to-Cradle Movement. I hope, and pray, that this book, and the movement that it has spawned, continues to take hold, gains critical mass, and acts to help pull us from the brink of the tragic disaster that we face should we continue as we have to date.

Reuse, reduce, recycle, has been societies' motto for dealing with environmental problems. However, as it is well known, it has not helped. Authors McDonough and Braungart present a new theory behind this. They tell us to reconsider the radle to cradle motif in life, where products turn to trash as soon as they are manufactured, to a cradle to cradle life. This means that when a product is created it will not end up in a landfill, or incinerator, but rather they will return to the cradle from which they were once made, only to be reused again, and again.According to McDonough and Brungart , about 90% of the materials created in the USA will become obsolete right after they are manufactured. These products, such as plastic bottles, or styrofoam, will not degrade and will only keep adding to the already overwhelmingly large toxic landscape created by consumer goods. Because the earth is not able to safely absorb the toxic wastes, the authors encourage us to create products that are not only biodegradable but also work as nutrients that benefit the earth's different systems. For example, hydrogen powered cars will be extremely beneficial relative to our current transportation system. Their emissions will go from being CO2, to H2O.The book itself puts their theories to use. It is created with a special synthetic paper that is waterproof and can be recycled indefinitely for the creation of other books, thus reducing deforestation, along with other factors associated with the recycling of paper.Also, the authors refer to two main ways of life: downcyling, which presents what would happen if the problem is not fixed, and upcycling, which would reuse every single material, therefore not allowing it to turned into another toxic waste pile. They want to revolutionize the entire design of products, so that from the very beginning each material used will be utilized in ca clean manner and be able to be reused continuously. They pose the problem that many industries do not want to go back to the drawing board because of the massive amount of expense that would cause.The book itself is a very easy read, one that is informative to all educational levels. The only negative aspect that I can think of is its weight, because it is made from the synthetic material, it is quite a heavy book for its size.All in all this book presents the idea of intelligent design, where the world should not see valuable raw materials sent to their graves through the use of ill design and manufacturing, but rather have them be intelligently created for an everlasting product thus making waste virtually nonexistent.