Books > Best Sellers > Science & Math





Price: $17.76 ($27.50)

(as of 2012-10-06 22:23:45 PST)

You save $9.74 (35%)

Usually ships in 24 hours

Science & Math

Rating: 4.4 / 5.0 (209 votes)

Released: 2002-04-22

Buying Choices

96 new from $13.89
141 used from $5.79
3 collectible from $24.98

(as of 2012-10-06 22:23:45 PST)








Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Michael Braungart

Description

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.
Check All OffersAdd to Wish ListCustomer ReviewsTrade-In List

Editorial Review

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

Book Details

Author: Michael BraungartPublisher: North Point PressBinding: PaperbackLanguage: EnglishPages: 208

Similar Books

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature
The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability (Collins Business Essentials)
The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift
Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change


Comments




Become a fan of Book Presence on Facebook for the inside scoop on latest and most exclusive books.