Negligence Starts Tomorrow*

This book is changing the way I understand the concept of sustainability. The book's authors, William McDonough and Michael Braungart present a new paradigm for industry, challenging us to move forward with only ecologically intelligent design. They argue that natural is not always better and that synthetics, when produced and recycled correctly, will be the materials that save the earth. The ideas they share about separating "biological nutrients" from "technical nutrients" make a world of sense and challenge many of the eco products being marketed today.

The book is actually made from a recyclable plastic and though it's a bit heavy, even this lover of real things can't argue with the logic presented in its physical design.

Though the authors promote a person-made world, they use nature as the grounding inspiration for how the world should work. It's a book that poses problems, but that also offers innovative and reasonable solutions. Change in industry is never easy, but the ideas presented in Cradle to Cradle are mind expanding, for sure.


*This is my husband's favorite quote from the book. He's the one who introduced me to it - he's taking a design class and this book is the only required reading.