Cradle to Cradle: Chapters 1-3

In the first three chapters of Cradle to Cradle, McDonough and Braungarten, reveal the folly of our past ways, the error of our current ways and the possibilities for a better designed future. The Industrial Revolution is shown to have created a poorly designed industrial paradigm, one that uses chemicals and processes of unknown consequence and depletes natural resources with no plan of preserving them.  The current environmentalist movement is shown to be a step in the right direction, but a step that will only delay environmental doom. McDonough and Braungarten then begin to outline their new "Cradle to Cradle" manufacturing model, which seeks to completely eliminate the concept of "waste" (Which is a really cool and much needed idea).

I thought it was very interesting how they framed the history of industrial progress as a conflict of Man VS Nature, Every progress a kick to the balls of nature, using brute force to make nature serve our interests. It's really interesting to think how the Jungian archetype of nature as something to conquer, something that needs to be beaten back to make room for civilization, has led to our very sorry current condition. And as a staunch Native-American sympathizer, I couldn't help but think of the way that the Native Americans, a culture that lives in harmony with nature instead of against it, were very nearly wiped out, to make room for our "civilization".

After thinking this, a voice in my head dismissively commented "That's some hippie shit, man". I believe this to be the voice of the current paradigm, the popular opinion espoused in the popular media. This immediately brought to mind Richard Serra's Television Delivers People.



This 1973 work of video art is a critique of mass media and shows television as an agent of social control used to benefit those in power. Think of how characters expressing contrary ideas are often portrayed in popular culture. Think of the idealistic hippie, that could change the world if it only weren't for their crippling marijuana-induced laziness. Such characters are often seen as needing to wake up and join the real world (Ya know, cut their hair, get a job, start building credit). By reinforcing the connection between environmentalism and hippies, the ideas are marginalized by the dismissal of the character. While I am not exactly suggesting that there is some huge corporate media conspiracy to keep environmentalists at bay, it interesting to note how popular media "works to keep the status quo" (As Serra argued).

However with the advent of the internet, a comparatively unrestricted form of mass communication, the nature of mass media has completely changed, and it will be interesting to see how it will continue to affect social progress. The role the internet played in the recent events in Egypt is one recent example. However it is saddening to see the way corporations are trying to gain control over the internet, what with the recent concern over net neutrality and the ever increasing need for advertisements. (On Youtube!? is nothing sacred?!?!?!)