Cradle to Cradle

My first impression of Cradle to Cradle is that the two authors take a very anthropocentric stance. The book begins with the situation of a comfortable reader having to come to grips with the health hazards of household items. It continues on to talk about human economic activity and how it affects the environment. After every point, though, it returns to how humans are harmed and thus why for humans' sake we must change our actions. Since they gave us their general histories (which, as a college senior who isn't sure what to do with her life, I really appreciated) I know that they have strong enough backgrounds in environmental sciences and chemistry.

They must have actively chosen to write this book from an anthropocentric viewpoint, and my guess is that they made that decision in order to better appeal to their readers. On the other hand, an everyday Joe wouldn't pick this up for some casual reading. The target audience for this book is probably middle-aged or young adult, environmentally minded, and has probably read some environmental literature. Another possible explanation for the people-centered writing is that the book concentrates on the concept of consumption.

Regardless of the style, Cradle to Cradle is a good book to end the semester with, as it ties together many concepts we have talked about in class. Since "Our Phony Economy" was one of my favorite readings for this class (it's such a simple concept that people don't talk about enough), I particularly liked the quote "If prosperity is judged only by increased economic activity, then car accidents, hospital visits, illnesses (such as cancer), and toxic spills are all signs of prosperity" (pages 36-37). Another theme they hit upon is the dichotomy between urban and rural which was really thrust to a forefront during the Industrial Revolution. As many historians and anthropologists have pointed out, understanding this relationship is key to getting a good grasp on consumption, which involves both culture and economics.

What I don't particularly like about the book is its connection to human health that begins with the Introduction and continues throughout the book. I believe they miss the mark with this, since it is not their academic specialty and their audience is already convinced of the dire nature of human's impact on the environment. To me, it cheapens the writing with a sense of alarmism. If they were to replace facts on human health impact with numbers on the environmental impact of our consumption, I would without hesitation give the book two thumbs up.