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The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability--Designing for Abundance by William McDonough, Michael Braungart
zuomiriam's review against another edition
3.0
Offers a really compelling way of thinking about our resource use, particularly those used in products (what the authors call technical nutrients), namely that we have a "material-in-the-wrong-place" problem rather than an energy problem. Not fully convinced by the ideas set forth in this book, but I think it's a great starting point to get more knowledgeable about sustainable design.
prynne31's review against another edition
Had to return it to the library last semester, and just have not been compelled to check it out again.
ybennehoff's review against another edition
5.0
Great follow up to Cradle to Cradle. I love the philosophy that they present and the optimism that they project.
mikegray6's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't love how it was written, with lots of light humor and roundabout stories to get to points, but still interesting ideas on how to think about reusing things and making things better. They have an optimistic view on how we can have what we want if we build things the right way and design them to be 'upcycled'. It got me outside traditional thinking on simply replacing or limiting consumption and instead thinking about how things should be designed from scratch to be reused, optimized, and not wasted. Worth the quick read if you are interested in the topic.
pldean's review against another edition
4.0
The thesis of "The Upcycle" is that...well, here's a quote: "Abundance -- of us, of our products -- is not the scourge: Society can accommodate and encourage even hundreds of thousands of products, from thousands of cultures, and even honor every one of the 10 billion people predicted to be here later in the century."
McDonough and Braungart posit that the idea of lowering one's carbon footprint is a bit too negative, too pessimistic. Instead, humans should seek to add sustainable abundance through intelligent and sustainable use of resources. Just as billions or trillions of ants, for example, exist on earth by contributing to its natural fecundity, so can humans, as when we compost and create fertile soil where none existed, add to the positive environment of earth.
It's a seductive line of thought, especially if you've ever had the sneaking suspicion that the best thing you can do for the environment is, well, die.
But it also gives me pause, and I would love for someone more biologically-trained to take up this question: don't even animal species exceed carrying capacity and endure cataclysmic population crashes? Isn't there finally a limit to what humans, even the most up-cycling, biomass-enhancing, value-adding humans, can do to forestall that fate? Isn't the natural world, with its complete and self-restoring systems, of limited use, finally, as a parallel to the world we have created?
Man, I'd love to see what Bill McKibben would say about this book.
McDonough and Braungart posit that the idea of lowering one's carbon footprint is a bit too negative, too pessimistic. Instead, humans should seek to add sustainable abundance through intelligent and sustainable use of resources. Just as billions or trillions of ants, for example, exist on earth by contributing to its natural fecundity, so can humans, as when we compost and create fertile soil where none existed, add to the positive environment of earth.
It's a seductive line of thought, especially if you've ever had the sneaking suspicion that the best thing you can do for the environment is, well, die.
But it also gives me pause, and I would love for someone more biologically-trained to take up this question: don't even animal species exceed carrying capacity and endure cataclysmic population crashes? Isn't there finally a limit to what humans, even the most up-cycling, biomass-enhancing, value-adding humans, can do to forestall that fate? Isn't the natural world, with its complete and self-restoring systems, of limited use, finally, as a parallel to the world we have created?
Man, I'd love to see what Bill McKibben would say about this book.
alexandrasklar's review against another edition
3.0
The follow up to "Cradle-to-Cradle", written with a bit less idealism and more concrete actions. Would recommend reading for anyone in the production of goods, buildings, or even average consumers. It is important to rethink the way we make our things. Not sure this has all the answers...but it opens up the inquiry.
jake_wont_shut_up's review against another edition
3.0
The ideas in the book are fascinating, and in general I'm completely on board with upcycling becoming the standard. I just don't think the book was written well. They committed (to me) one of the cardinal sins of criticizing a concept early on, then using that same concept to prove their point later. Specifically, they argue that people who suggest reducing the world population to minimize resource consumption are not thinking big enough, and that world population can continue to grow if we plan better. Later, though, when talking about powering the world, they suggest breaking things down to component parts: if we focus just on lightbulbs, and use this new process that uses less energy, here's how much energy we save! Well, if we had fewer people that needed lightbulbs...even more savings! (No, I'm not advocating actively reducing world population, I'm just not panicking about shrinking birth rates).
starshipengineer's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
One of the rare books that will change the way you think. Should be read by everyone.
leaton01's review against another edition
5.0
McDonough and Braungart's follow up to their previous book, Cradle to Cradle, is a solid book to help think more critically and creatively about developing a more sustainable world through human efforts. They highlight a variety of work that is already being done with regards to upcycling and where more work can be done. At its core is the argument is that there isn't a "waste" problem insomuch as there is a design problem that we must think more proactively about design with the full cycle of the products resources and their long-lasting implications. From furniture to clothing to waste management (or more appropriately renamed, nutrient management), they show pathways to making human practices more sustainable.
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/