Cradle to Cradle

For me, Cradle to Cradle was incredibly refreshing. Not only did it recognize that the world will probably never stop growing, it encouraged growth. But the right kind of growth. Good growth. A lot of environmental literature asserts that growth is the key to the destruction of the Earth- which, let's face it, the kind of growth we're doing right now is. But McDonough and Braungart decided that growth could be better designed.

From the construction of buildings to restructuring recycling, most of Cradle to Cradle was devoted to turning the authors' theories into actual practice- kind of a marvel idea, right? Everything that is grown or created is part of a cycle. Nothing should be thrown or put away. To conquer the idea of using resources more sustainably, the authors used the idea of the triangle (which we covered in class a bit).

In general, the biggest problem I have with environmental literature is that it requires major changes on the part of humans- something that I'm just not sure will happen just yet. It very well could eventually, but by then it might be too late. Like the book discussed, consumerism is dangerous. We buy new jackets and shoes every couple of months and then we just throw the old ones "away." Even if we recycle something, doing so leads to the release of chemicals and toxins that are also harmful to the environment. I honestly believe that things have to get a lot worse before people will care enough to help them get better. They have to notice these things in their daily lives and they have to believe that a new technology isn't going to fix everything.