I also found Cradle to Cradle to be an interesting and even refreshing read. It was not like other environmental books that I have read that just evoke fear because the world is going to end and it is our entire fault, it just was not as depressing for me. The concept of “being less bad” instead of being good, I believe, is a brilliant way to portray the idea that the little acts we take in favor of the environment is not enough and really is not making much of a difference. Bigger and longer term changes need to be made so instead of living “less bad” we can live “good” and they do suggest that people reconsider their lifestyles all together to really make a difference.

I think the fact that McDonough is an architect and that Braungart is a chemist translate in the writing of the book. They are not just simply giving facts but practical approaches that they have created or designed. They argue that waste is a product of bad design, so the best way to reduce or even eliminate waste is to create a better design , for example the SIS building. Better design leads to this idea of cradle to cradle instead of cradle to grave in that we need to create products have a continued life and are used as resources for other products, instead of just turning into waste. It is an interesting concept but it may take too much time or money or lack of interest of people to really make a push towards actually eliminating waste.