I’m happy to say that my eyes were really opened by Professor Maniates’ “Trinity of Despair”. As a green crusader myself, I know better than anyone that it’s the most difficult thing in the world to get others who disagree with the entire green movement on the same page as myself. But after listening to Professor Maniates’ discussion I’ve realized that maybe we don’t have to all jump on board in order to create change.

Many of my previous posts have been about my frustrations when others don’t participate in the tedious everyday green nuances like I do. I’ve even wrote multiple times that the solution to our global crises lie in everybody banning together to find a solution. But maybe this is and never will be possible no matter how hard we try. Maybe Professor Maniates is right in saying it takes a minority with a fixed will and determination can successfully rework the system in our favor. It’s been done before, just as Maniates said, the Women’s Suffrage, and the Civil Rights movements are clear examples to support his claim.

If you were to ask me before class what my stance on an environmental solution was I would have probably disagreed with Professor Maniates. However during class I found myself surprisingly optimistic in comparison to the rest of the class. Before Maniates even described the “Trinity of Despair” or any of his theories I said aloud “It doesn’t take everyone, because the people who are working on the issues are the most passionate and driven people. They are the people to get the job done.” So maybe Professor Maniates and I agreed on the issue even when I thought we didn’t. But I can tell you 100% he has turned me pro-Maniates after his lecture. I’m now refocusing my environmental efforts not in converting the apathetic others, but creating a larger impact on my own.

I can totally save the planet.

Cradle to Cradle

I really think that what McDonough and Braungart are trying to do is revolutionary. I like that their ideas are very practical business solutions for environmental problems. They remain grounded in the pro-environment no-waste ideas that they preach, and actually practice them.

I only worry about their effort growing. The few businesses they worked with in the video were very willing to restructure their business model around an eco-friendly platform. I am afraid that larger and more destructive companies will be completely dissinterested in following McDonough's and Braungart's ideals of waste = food. Hopefully though, they'll see the environmental (and even the marketing effects ) of being as green as possible. I'm worried that this all may not work, but I'm trying to remain hopeful that these types of plans will catch quickly catch on globally.

I truly commend William McDonough and Michael Braungart on their optimistic vision. I like to think of myself as an optimist as well when it comes to matters of the environment. I’d like to believe we can get everybody on board this revolution in time to save the planet. Reading Cradle to Cradle has provided me with insight I’ve never thought of before. I don’t normally put my faith in technology, and would rather rely on a “consume-less, waste-less, need-less” mindset when it comes to my environmental views. However in our capitalist, and oftentimes stubborn, society, this is nearly impossible. Working capitalism into greening our country by providing manufacturers with ideas to remake the way we make things is brilliant.

When I told my father I wanted to concentrate in Environmental Policy in college he said “green is very ‘in’ right now” . . . and he’s right. People who never in their life used a recycling can are cooking up ways to make a dollar on green solutions. This is why I think McDonough and Braungart’s theories will absolutely work. For example, a very conservative, very NON-environmentally friendly friend of mine one day proposed the idea of starting a company which assisted companies in going green. A sort of liaison company that did all the green work for other companies, so they can reap the benefits of going green. Needless to say, this was shocking to me. I was, of course, in full support of his decision, but couldn’t understand why he had conjured it up.

My friend is a business major, and business majors are concerned with one thing: money. Offering practical steps on how to innovate in today’s economic environment allows the re-invention of the human industry. The attitude McDonough and Braungart take is “We have created this mess, now we can create a solution.” It is very inspiring to say the least, and offers a sense of hope for a future of sustaining prosperity.

Cradle to Cradle

I really applaud McDonough and Braungart's vision because it is so holistic and healthy. Not to be melodramatic, but I've actually never heard anything proposed that is so revolutionary.

It does give me hope that we can experience real change, but at the same time it seems to be trying to accomplish too much at once. Don't get me wrong, I think that drastic change is needed, and soon, to reverse the cycle of environmental degradation. However, I'm wondering if they could speak more about gradually implementing these changes so as to get everyone involved on board and not to, "shock the system." I personally believe that the system must be shocked, but I think that, unfortunately, society is too entrenched in its own industrial and manufacturing ways, and this fixation makes change very hard to come by.

I think that this spirit of holistic change must come from the bottom-up and from the top-down. Local communities should get on board and make positive examples of themselves, which will hopefully spur meaningful policy reform from government. I hope that these practical and logistical considerations will be addressed later on in the book.

Maybe my cynicism is showing here. But I do think these kinds of fundamental changes are possible and that we should definitely reach for the stars when conceptualizing these goals. I just know that, usually, change comes slowly, which is why incremental goals must be set and met.

Lorax Verses

Wow, Dominique, great job! I love it!

Here's what we came up with in class:

Riding your cycler
Planting a tree
Not littering and recycling
Are all well and good
But working with friends
The fun never ends
Thinking of big ideas
Writing emails and making phone calls
Attending meetings and organizing events
Affecting change
Is where the most can be gained
If we want to make the world a better place
Start a movement; you and your friends need to show your faces

Maybe we could combine some of these ideas in class today or Friday?

Great work!
Katie Suplick

Every creature
Down on Earth
Liked Earth a lot...

But the Humans,
Who owned the Earth,
Did NOT!

The Humans hated Earth! They hated each season!
Now, please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason.
It could be because they ruled above all,
It could be, perhaps, that Earth was too small.
But these Humans nonetheless were careless in fashion,
And took all they could without rhyme or ration.

So
Whatever the reason,
Their heads or their hearts,
They ran around careless using all of Earth's parts,
Taking whatever from the ground and the trees;
Even polluting the air and the seas!
For what we knew every Human on Earth
Was wasting the Earth for all it was worth.

"They're killing me slowly! This sure is not fair!
I give all they need! I wish they would care!"
And then the Earth sighed, looked down with compassion,
"I MUST find a way to teach Humans some passion!"
So Earth, said a prayer...

And SO
...All Humans, All Humans, with all of their flaws
Would wake up that morning and put life on pause!
And then! To find a cause! They'd find a cause!
That's how they'd fix Earth! With a round of applause they'd each find a cause!

Then Humans, young and old, would all volunteer.
They'd engineer! Pioneer! Make smog disappear!
Persevere! Hold Earth dear! Here Here! Here Here!
They'd start from the front, and move to the rear!
They'd do all they could to save their great Sphere!

And THEN
They patched up Earth from its wearing and tearing,
And Earth was pleased Humans finally were caring!
They stood close together, with hand in one hand,
For Earth had been saved! They saved their great land!

When they tried! And they tried!
AND they TRIED! TRIED! TRIED! TRIED!
They fixed up their Earth from the out to inside!
They came together, each one, worldwide!
All because they stopped and they stared
Listened to Earth, and finally cared,
And with just a little passion
Earth was repaired.

Discussion Question 7

I think the green collar jobs movement is really smart. Most people see the environment as something that you address when you're rich (I'll buy solar panels and organic produce when I can afford it), but this idea involves people in all economic walks of life. As a lot of blue collar jobs are being lost, green collar jobs are a great way to replace them. They not only help people who need jobs, but they restructure the entire energy industry (and other industries) to make them more green. It works with the root of the consumption problem. It also works with the current environmental problem. I agree, it definitely kills two birds with one stone. Green collar jobs use the environment as the means to economic end, but not in a harmful way