“Consider this: all the ants on the planet, taken together, have a biomass greater than that of humans. Ants have been incredibly industrious for millions of years. Yet their productiveness nourishes plants, animals, and soil. Human industry has been in full swing for little over a century, yet it has brought about a decline in almost every ecosystem on the planet. Nature doesn't have a design problem. People do.” PeopleYearsHumansLittlesHas BeensProblemEarthTogetherNatureAnimalMillionsTakenGreaterCenturyDesignPlanetsIndustryPlantEnvironmentalProductivitySoilDeclineSwingsConsideringAntsNourishmentEcosystemsIndustriousBiomass Book:Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things Source: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
“You need that same creative force that exists in a building like Disney [Walt Disney Concert Hall] to actually tackle that most prosaic of problems.” NeedsProblemForceCreativeBuildingHallsConcertsWalt Author:William McDonough
“The problem carbon is that everyone thinks we have an energy problem, we don't. We have plenty of energy. We have a carbon problem. Carbon is a material, so we have a material problem, not an energy problem.” ThinkingProblemEnergyMaterialsPlentyCarbon Author:William McDonough
“We have carbon in the atmosphere. That is a material in the wrong place problem. It's just like what I said about the lead. Lead in the biosphere is not good. Carbon in the atmosphere (over natural levels) is a problem.” SaidProblemNaturalLevelsMaterialsAtmosphereCarbonLead InBiosphere Author:William McDonough
“The problem I have with carbon as a bad thing issue, is that people go out and say they want to be zero carbon. You see it everywhere.” PeopleWantProblemIssuesBad ThingsZeroCarbon Author:William McDonough
“We celebrate the cherry tree not for its efficiency but for its effectiveness - and for its beauty. Its materials are in constant flow, and all those thousands of useless cherry blossoms look gorgeous. Then they fall to the ground and become soil again, so there's no problem” LooksProblemFallNatureEnvironmentTreeMaterialsFlowConstantCelebrateUselessSoilEfficiencyNo ProblemGorgeousEffectivenessCherriesNatural EnvironmentCherry BlossomCherry Trees Author:William McDonough
“You don't filter smokestacks or water. Instead, you put the filter in your head and design the problem out of existence.” ProblemWaterInspiringExistenceDesignFilters Author:William McDonough
