Cradle to Cradle
by William McDonough & Michael Braungart
Presented by Ande Buskirk & Nicole Machuca
Chapter 1 - A Question of Design
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Bad design is everywhere.
Titanic and Industrial Revolution
Resistance and romantics
Universal design- the worst case scenario
Crude products and products plus
Intergenerational remote tyranny or a
Strategy of change
Chapter 2 - Why Being “Less
Bad” is No Good
• Eco-efficiencey, RRR, and superficiality
– Monsanto, Dupont, Johnson & Johnson
• A range of pollutants
• Problems with incinerating, composting,
recycling
• Efficiency has no independent value
• What does it look like to be 100% good?
Chapter 3 - Eco-Effectiveness
• 3 books
• Not efficient, effective- we want more of
it
• Cherry tree and ants
• Becoming native to Earth
• Zero is not the right goal- deprivation,
starvation
Chapter 4 - Waste Equals Food
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Bio mass and Tech mass
Away
Sewage problems
Metabolisms- a reflection of Hawken?
Insanity and Negligence
Chapter 5 - Respect Diversity
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One-size-fits-all
De-evolution
Fitting-est
Diversity
All sustainability is local
-sewage, energy, cars, soap
• -Isms: extreme
• Economy, Equity, Ecology and Industrial Reevo
Chapter 6 - Putting EcoEffectiveness into Practice
• Ford River Rouge
• Free of, Personal Preference, Passive
Positive, Activate, Reinvent and redesign
• Intention
• Restorative action
• Innovation
• Brace for the learning curve
• Responsibility to future
Major Themes/Interesting Points
 Move away from:
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Cradle-to-grave as acceptable
Standardization in industry – one-size does not fit all
Creating in obsolescence – prioritize upcycling
Environmentalism focusing on what not to do
 Education & research focus on analyzing problems, not finding
solutions
 2 metabolisms: Technical vs. Biological Nutrition/Food
 Should adhere to nature’s model – cradle-to-cradle
 Look to indigenous & less industrialized regions for design ideas
 Stop trying to fix industry – redesign it
 Respect Diversity Principal: Design should account for not only
biodiversity, but cultural and locale diversity
 Triple Top Line Approach: Balancing ecology, equity, & economy
Recurring Themes
• Westerners saw nature as something to be
dominated
• Environmentalism does not conflict with
economic growth
• Currently one paradigm of progress
• Society should strive for “good” growth – not
merely economic growth
• Current failure in imagination and creativity
• Should adhere to nature’s model
• Smaller systems better
Quotes
• “Urban and industrial growth is often referred to as a
cancer, a thing that grows for its own sake and not for the
sake of the organism it inhabits.” pg. 77
• “We begin to make human systems and industries fitting
when we recognize that all sustainability (just like politics)
is local.” pg. 123
• “Respecting diversity in design means considering not only
how a product is made but how it is to be used, and by
whom. In a cradle-to-cradle conception, it may have many
uses, and many users, over time and space.” pg. 138
Remaining Questions/Discussion
• My one question that still remains is how we can get
industries to want to make this change to a new system of
this sort. – Lauren
• I think the consumer on the other end of the process is an
important component. How can we expect companies to
shift, to change their ways, when the consumer will likely
be upset with rising costs, decreased mobility, and vastly
different products? – Adam
• Like any aspect of life, people tend to favor change when
there is an incentive involved.…I think the combination of
framing the change in a positive outlook with incentives to
change are a start in getting people on board.” - Bob
Vocabulary
• Effluents: Waste products
• Downcycling: Reduces quality of objects over time
• Intergenerational Remote Tyranny: Actions that
deprive and harm future generations
• Eco-efficiency: Doing more with less
• Biological nutrient: material designed to return to
biological system
• Technical nutrient: material designed to return to
industrial cycle, e.g. plastic, steel
• Unmarketables: Hazardous materials, e.g. nuclear
waste