Abouts Books

By Christine Pointeau

The greater thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are going -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Cradle-to-Cradle printed in 2002, was authored by two brilliant human beings, Michael Braungart, chemist, and William McDonough, Architect. It is now in its fifth printing.

They propose that the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" mind set, though commendable, is not the end-all for today's dilemma and can be taken further. The system we have in place now is Cradle to Grave, albeit through several cycles of recycling. It still produces waste for the landfill and pollution for the atmosphere.

What they propose is Cradle to Cradle: close the cycle from building material back to building material, in a pure, clean, none pollutant, natural form. They contest that the end result, or output (what we call waste) can in fact be cleaner than the input. One example is a rug factory whose water waste is cleaner than the river water they use in the first place. Through their process, they clean out the pollutants and re-introduce that water back into its natural stream, creating a cleaner and healthier river for the benefits of all life.

Imagine going to work in a building vibrant with natural day light, plants and fresh air. Imagine entering a building itself made using passive solar principles, non-toxic walls and paint, and being surrounded by healthy furniture. And imagine employees so happy to be there that they double their productivity and hardly ever call in sick. Dreaming? No, it is a reality, thank to people like Braungart and McDonough. And this is only the beginning.

This book will open your eyes to some of the wonderful things happening in a few of today's corporations. Meet open minded and environmentally aware CEOs that are changing the way we do business and just might have the vision -and resources- to re-invent the very foundation of our society.

Dedicated to bettering the world one person at a time, artist-author Christine Pointeau from http://www.ChristinePointeau.com writes articles on self-development, health and success; provides useful resources to visitors; and creates beautiful art for all the enjoy.