Cradle to cradle: an end to resource death

In the natural world, "biological metabolism" recycles and reuses nutrients through the living and the non-living components of our planet.

In the industrial world, we currently operate under a system of use once, twice maybe, then dispose of products (technical nutrients) into a landfill - effectively locking up potentially valuable materials, and producing a significant waste problem.

Cradle to cradle (C2C) design radically rethinks our design and manufacturing worlds by imposing strict standards of reusability on ALL products produced, from our homes to our diapers. Products certified under the cradle to cradle design concept will be 100% recyclable or reusable!

Outlined in their book: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, American Architect, William McDonough and German chemist, Michael Braungart, describe a simple, intuitive, and practical approach to design that is slowly gaining acceptance and promising to revolutionize the way we manufacture and think about objects of any sort. If fully incorporated, C2C promises to significantly reduce the human impact on the natural world.

This book is not just a brilliant idea in a standard package, it is an example of just what C2C means for our future. The book is printed on synthetic "paper" made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers. Designed with the look and feel of top quality paper it is also completely waterproof, can take quite a beating, and can be fully recycled in practically all localities in the US.

For more information on this concept and it's progress check out the website of C2C founder William McDonough, and for a really comprehensive chronology of the C2C movement check here.

Green lights the way for the Über rich

In something straight out of Yoda's living room... and at an interstellar cost too, the xDesign Environmental Health Clinic at New York University gives us the "green light".




Essentially a solar-powered, 6watt, LED chandelier, the greenlight incorporates a small tray for plants. According to Bill Wolverton, the environmental scientist and ex-NASA researcher who pioneered this idea, the light works at wavelengths preferable for photosynthesis. As the incorporated plants grow, they absorb polluted air, thus reducing indoor pollution.

Originally designed for air-cleansing of space-stations, these living lights are now being produced for homes across America. However, given the $6,000/light price tag, we don't expect they will become too common of a sight any time soon.

Even though they score a 10 on the coooool factor, given the astronomical costs of these lights, they get a big green boo from greengo.

From Popular Mechanics and EcoGeek