The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability--Designing for Abundance

by William McDonough, Michael Braungart, Bill Clinton (Foreword by)

Overview

From the authors of Cradle to Cradle, we learn what's next: The Upcycle

The Upcycle is the eagerly awaited follow-up to Cradle to Cradle, one of the most consequential ecological manifestoes of our time. Now, drawing on the green living lessons gained from 10 years of putting the Cradle to Cradle concept into practice with businesses, governments, and ordinary people, William McDonough and Michael Braungart envision the next step in the solution to our ecological crisis: We don't just use or reuse and recycle resources with greater effectiveness, we actually improve the natural world as we live, create, and build.

For McDonough and Braungart, the questions of resource scarcity and sustainability are questions of design. They are practical-minded visionaries: They envision beneficial designs of products, buildings, and business practices—and they show us these ideas being put to use around the world as everyday objects like chairs, cars, and factories are being reimagined not just to sustain life on the planet but to grow it. It is an eye-opening, inspiring tour of our green future as it unfolds in front of us.

The Upcycle is as ambitious as such classics as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring—but its mission is very different. McDonough and Braungart want to turn on its head our very understanding of the human role on earth: Instead of protecting the planet from human impact, why not redesign our activity to improve the environment? We can have a beneficial, sustainable footprint. Abundance for all. The goal is within our reach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865477483
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	04/16/2013
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.08(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

William McDonough is an American architect and founding principal of William McDonough + Partners. Michael Braungart is a German chemist. Together they cofounded McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, and in 2002 they coauthored Cradle to Cradle.

Table of Contents

Foreword President Bill Clinton xiii

Introduction 1

1 Life Upcycles 23

2 Houston, We Have a Solution 51

3 Wind Equals Food 85

4 Soil Not Oil 121

5 Let Them Eat Caviar 143

6 The Butterfly Effect 181

7 What's Next? 209

Notes 219

Acknowledgments 225

Editorial Reviews

Asking how a cherry tree would design an energy-efficient building is only one of the creative ‘practices' that McDonough and Braungart spread before their readers. This book will give you renewed hope that, indeed, ‘it is darkest before the dawn.'” —Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club on Cradle to Cradle

“[McDonough and Braungart are] masters of holistic environmentalism . . . [They] have a knack for combining big ideas with commonsense practicality, which leaves readers feeling excited about the future.” —Bruce Barcott, Outside Magazine on Cradle to Cradle

From the Publisher

Asking how a cherry tree would design an energy-efficient building is only one of the creative 'practices' that McDonough and Braungart spread before their readers. This book will give you renewed hope that, indeed, 'it is darkest before the dawn.'

executive director of the Sierra Club on Cradle to Carl Pope

Architect McDonough and chemist Braungart (co-authors: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, 2002) tender both an attitude and a strategy for a better-designed world. The authors caused a splash a decade ago with their notion of cradle to cradle: that our goods and services can be designed with the intentionality of reuse. Here, they expand on that notion, firing off examples of achieving the upcycle--"a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy, and just world with clean air, water, soil, and power, economically, equitably, ecologically, and elegantly enjoyed"--through the proper use of design. The book is a heady engagement, a powerful to-and-fro between the authors and readers. Who would quibble that design ought to take reuse into account, that regulations are a red flag indicating the need for redesign, or that using positive ingredients to begin with is better than having to eliminate dangerous byproducts? Most interesting are the hands-on, root-to-rebirth projects they, or others, have accomplished: Their design of an experimental, high-sustaining building for NASA is a vision brought to life; infusing objects with color via reflected-light polymers rather than poisonous dyestuffs; providing plants with the specific light energy they need with solar-powered LEDs. But the authors examine wind turbines as a "pleasant visual" in one instance and a potential "blight" in another, and some readers may wonder who decides "those things we like, that are useful, pleasurable, and healthy." The authors end with a "What's Next?" section, a list of 10 points to remember, including "We Don't Have an Energy Problem. We Have a Materials-in-the-Wrong-Place Problem," "Always Be Asking What's Next" and "Add Good on Top of Subtracting Bad." Mostly stimulating and inventive.

Kirkus Reviews

The sequel to the authors’ important earlier work, CRADLE TO CRADLE, continues to explore their comprehensive design-based solutions to environmental contamination and resource scarcity. Listen to this book, but read CRADLE TO CRADLE. The authors use their decades of experience as sustainability consultants to add depth to their vision. Their approach now represents one of the most influential themes in global sustainability. Alan Sklar’s deep, throaty voice is always clear and well paced. He takes the time to place the emphasis where the authors would place it in their sometimes complex analysis. He effectively conveys their careful mix of optimism, passion, and professional detachment. These books will change the way you think about the world. F.C. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

JULY 2013 - AudioFile