cradle-to-cradle

Read the book Cradle to Cradle, by Michael Braungart and William McDonough. This chemist/architect pairing began in the late 80's and early 90's when these two were amongst many people trying to figure out ecologically sound solutions for product design and mass produced goods. The two began brainstorming about ways to create/build product so that they could be disassembled into biodegradable and recyclable components. The main objective behind this would be to close the product loop, so that nothing is thrown out at the end (there is no end). This is in contrast to recycling, which while valuable, still produces waste, doesn't stop its product from being thrown out post-use, and creates pollution of its own. The current system, therefore, is called cradle to grave.

This book touches on the most important changes to be made within manufacturing industries, building industries, and the general public/society, as outlined by Braungart and McDonough's philosophy:


1. There are two alternative for the life cycles of products, depending on if they are biodegradable or not. biodegradable products are made purely of biodegradable materials, and can be thrown out by the consumer upon consumption without worry or specific location. These products must be composed of safe materials and chemicals, both during and post-use. Other products may contain some less safe materials and chemicals, though offgassing of these chemicals must be minimal. Also, such chemicals as dioxins and carcinogens (but I thought everything was a carcinogen...) are strictly prohibited from use in any product. These synthetic products can be upcycled, meaning they can be reused in a constant cycle, in the same composition or a higher-level use than previously. Currently, recycled materials tend to be of lower quality than their predecessors. Biodegradable and non biodegradable components may be combined in the same product, but only through easily and safely detachable physical bonds.

2. Production facilities must be safe for workers and the surrounding community, and should be active participants/contributors to the community. New production systems can be implemented that do not use toxic chemicals. Factories and other buildings can utilize environmentally friendly building materials and technologies, and can use "sustainable" infrastructure such as solar/wind/micro-hydroelectric energy, composting waste, water capture/reuse/treatment.

3.Ecology, Equity, and Economy can and should work hand in hand, but they should be equal in priority within a manufacturer's operations. To balance these 3 ideals is to create a truly successful business model that is not unsustainable. Businesses can approach this balance from any angle, but the end result should be equality of purpose.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, printed on paper and plastic impermeable pages, and am now more willing to think beyond the general guidelines of what is sustainable, into the realm of what is effective, regenerative, and therefore more attractive/feasible.

My one complaint with the cradle-to-cradle system is the lack of effort in engaging the public, and even companies themselves. Perhaps because it is just one business engaging with other businesses, the public scope is too large. In the place of cradle-to-cradle's detailed and specific studies, a third-party rating system similar to LEED has emerged, called SMaRT (run by MTS, or Market Transformation for Sustainability). While it may not seem so from the unfriendly website, these ratings are easier to understand than cradle-to-cradle, but rely on a lot of paperwork, and less research by the third-party. The research and product development comes from the company itself; all MTS and other parties do is study the information they are given and assessing points based on a system. More standardized, but not necessarily as helpful on a case-by-case basis.

Either way, it seems a revolution in product design and manufacturing is happening. Hopefully the general public wakes up to this and begins to overhaul their living in the same way.

weekly updates?

Seems as if I only make time to write on here once a week. So I'll try to give weekly updates of how my updating of the site is going. And maybe try to go on here more often.


Last blog entry: 2008.06.08_22.06
Blog entries, last 7 days: 2

look out below... ...and above too!

Update from latest crane incident:
The lead inspector of cranes and derricks at the NYC Department of Building was accused yesterday, under suspicion of taking bribes from a crane company, and selling crane operation licensing exam responses from the same company.
Hm. That's very surprising. I never would have thought the inner workings of any public entity in a huge and bureaucracy-rich city such as New York would be subject to such lobbying/bribery. My oh my.

Well, I guess it's time to react to it when people start dying in public.

more films, latin american style

Here are a couple more synopses on films I've seen recently, which both happen to be from Latin America:

Manda Bala, by Jason Kohn (2007)
Compelling, I think is the best description for this documentary. It attempts to make sense of the chaos that is brasilian society, based on its may incarnations and reactions to crime. The two main forms of crime that are juxtaposed are money laundering by politicians, and kidnapping of these and other rich by the poor. Along for the ride are frog farmers, reconstructive plastic surgeons, bombastic anti-kidnapping division policemen, and paranoid "mauricinhos" (stuck up rich boys, in brasilian slang). Metaphors are thrown around, and even though they may be direct they are not overemphasized, instead taking shape through the scenes, cuts, and cinematography. Which, by the way, is quite stunning at times, even though none of these filmmakers had ever directed or produced anything (so kudos to the camerawoman, you rock!).
I think the most surprising emotion I came away with from this movie is not so much anger at conditions i already knew existed (the poor being abused by the rich, especially in the north of the country; the extremely poor trying to take something for themselves through any means, and leaving their morals in the backburner; or the rich ignoring the actual conditions of the poor and resorting to stereotypical portrayals of the poors as ignorants for justification), but more at a current thread through all of these characters: the brasilian ability to adapt, to innovate in order to succeed, the jeitinho that apparently permeates through most brasileiros. I wonder if I see too much into this theme in anything brasilian i experience, but it seems to make sense too often. Maybe it's a good thing I'm an architect. Time to put the jeitinho to work...

El Crimen Del Padre Amaro, by Carlos Carrera (2002)
1. Based on a seemingly anti-catholic novel written before 1800 about scandals involving priests, and loves forbidden by already outdated canonical laws.
2. Hot, good actors and actresses. ok, actor and actress... ...and she's really not that good, but Gael Garcia Bernal is. Though I think they went a bit too telenovela with the love story aspect. But maybe I'm just not wired for these things.
3. Peasants turning against heretics while priests fund hospitals through laundered drug lord money. That just about brings the story up to the late 20th and early 21st century.
4. leprosy, catholic witch doctors, abortion, blackmailing, and coronaries. And a lot of talk about Mexican food.
So the film wasn't necessarily great, but it had its highlights. Though I still can't figure out the general point of view of the writers/producers/directors, especially regarding religion and organized religion. B ut I will say, one of my favorite moments was the recitation of dirty Holy Book passages during sex. HOT! And definitely better overall as a movie than most American romances nowadays.

look out below...

Another crane incident...
Incompetence is the name of the game in the NYC construction industry. Well, that and money.
I guess this is a good time to introduce Curbed, a website about NYC real estate, community, and planning.

South African xenophobia

And I thought Americans and Europeans were anti-immigration...
Seems people everywhere have a general distrust of immigrants. Frankly, If I were in a situation where I could not find a job but other people people got them mostly because of their willingness to work for less, I would be pissed too. However, I certainly wouldn't blame the people trying to find a job themselves, or even necessarily the employers trying to create an efficient business (though grossly underpaying whoever will take any amount of money and be afraid of doing anything that may cost him his job is not the soundest of policies, from a humanitarian or business standpoint). The government of that country needs to enploy some of these people in stadium construction efforts for the World Cup, and maybe to begin to train them for some service jobs that will emerge during the sporting event. That is a small gesture, I guess, but in my opinion may actually give some validity to the notion that a major sporting event actually does help the hosting community. Of course, there needs to be a plan of job replacement, period, if not a plan to empower people with their own business opportunities. Maybe a small loans program, or just more education opportunities. In fact, even some free meal programs for children, or better health care, can lead to great improvement in the general economic condition over time. If children are better educated and fed, they may be more helpful in the home/field, and will most definitely live through their childhood. This will most likely result in lower birth rates, less expenses for the parents, and a better household. Everything else follows.
But job creation is important as an immediate measure. However, I don't know much about the economy of South Africa, which is why I blurted out World Cup at the first chance.
I just hope people begin to understand that their misfortune is not necessarily the fault of someone else's fortune. Though resources of wealth and happiness may sometimes seem inadequate for all, that is not necessarily true. If those involved in these situations want to, they can share these resources to everyone's benefit. That, however is the problem.

piece keepers

It seems some U.N. peacekeepers have been abusing children all over the world. Another strike against the United Nations, who should be seen by all people of the world as protectors. So much for that. I know these are isolated cases, but for an organization that consistently sets its economic and political goals to oblige by the will of the Most Developed Countries, an appearance of failure at any other level, especially concerning trust, is seriously damaging. Count some of these other incidents along with this, and how can this organization be trusted, especially on the ground, where it is actually more likely to make a difference?

well, I don't know what else to say right now...