Cradle to Cradle

The idea of a Cradle to Cradle design is one in which materials are circulated healthily. It stresses that industry has to protect ecosystems through a healthy cycle of goods. Some key ideas with the Cradle to Cradle design are the uses of technical nutrients and biological nutrients. The idea behind them differs with the basis of their makeup. For example technical nutrients are inorganic materials that can be used many times without decreasing quality and can continue to stay in the cycle. Biological nutrients on the other hand are different because they are based from organic materials and instead of being able to stay in the cycle for a long time with out deteriorating, their strength is based on how easily they can decompose into the natural environment without making a negative effect. This idea of Waste=Food, which consists of a large portion of the book, follows this premise of biological nutrients. The basic idea of Waste=Food is organic materials(waste) becoming food for bugs that decompose it and therefore return it to the environment and leads to the production of our own food. I believe these ideas in the book are very revolutionary. If we create products that will last in the system and use organic materials that bugs can break-down this will immensely help our current problems with waste today. This idea totally goes against how most businesses work unfortunately. A great example of this is the idea of planned obsolescence which was discussed earlier in our class.The negative effects that come from Perceived obsolescence could be deterred if we start use technical nutrients in these products that can be reused in the newer technologies.

Waste Equals Food

The premise of the book Cradle to Cradle, as Carolyn and Yumi have already mentioned can be manufactured in ways that are more environmentally friendly. This calls on shifting from an idea of building products which will eventually become obsolete and are harmful to the environment, to ones that will “give back”. In the book the authors mention the idea of products as biological or technical nutrients. Through these methods the materials that products are made of will safely reenter the water or soil without harming the environment by depositing synthetic materials and toxins, or can be continually used by downcycling—into low-grade materials and uses rather than being “recycled”.  This idea surprised me as I never really considered that even though we recycle it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are helping the environment because we still have to think about the materials that make up products, which are toxic and unsafe for the environment. If we were to adjust the production of goods in such a way that takes into consideration “nutrient cycle” then we would definitely be in a better situation. Instead of the “cradle to grave” industrial model we should think about the “cradle to cradle” notion.

Cradle to Cradle

After reading the book, I feel that the authors are arguing that the current industries where so many products are produced and wasted can actually be used to generate ecological value. Of course there are economic values in them as well that industries always compete with one another, but the authors emphasized that even though in the modern days it seems that there is no future (from The End of Wild), there are ways to shift from the wasteful society to repeatedly recycling and producing, without having to use up all the resources. It was really interesting to me that the authors brought this notion of “lifecyle development.” And I feel that that is a term/phrase that we should all think about for sustainable development, future generations. As we all know, the environment conditions will not improve in one day, but throughout life time, many things can be done if each and every one of us actively participate in this process and be aware of this. I definitely think that they are on the right track, in the sense that what other options do we really have? If industries were to stop producing, human life will not continue—so many people will lose their jobs etc. So, the industries must keep moving forward, in which they can use this “cradle to cradle” design where they can use-recycle-produce the material without having to use up the resources like the book, made out of polypropelene paper, demonstrates.