William McDonough

Entry # 21

Extra Credit?

:)

4-14-12

        I greatly enjoyed the video Cradle to Cradle Design featuring William McDonough. The video was very thought provoking and informative. He touched on a number of topics with such passion and enthusiasm I could not help but be drawn in. He made a number of great points. For example, he urged everyone to think about tomorrow and build with an eye towards the future. He unveiled cutting-edge building designs which took countless hours of meticulous planning. These structures were designed to disturb the surrounding ecosystems as little as possible. For example, the roofs of the buildings were used to grow grass. This was a practical way to replace the grass that was lost due to the laying of the building’s foundation. Another part of the video I found very interesting was when he spoke about all the chemicals that are in so many of our household products. For instance, I was mortified when he mentioned what chemicals make up a rubber duck that a child would play with. I had never even thought of that until he pointed it out. I know I don’t want my kid potentially putting something in his mouth that was made in a lab of unnatural synthetic material. I definitely think we need more regulation and better explanations about the ingredients in materials we buy. Manufactures should be mandated to put clearer descriptions of ingredients. It does the buyer no good to read labels if he doesn’t know what the words mean. I was glad to see Mr. McDonough was so respected in his field. I hope his innovative ideas spread and are applied all over the globe. He demonstrates a clear understanding of what measures we must take to responsibly co-exist with nature.