The Eco-efficient formula: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is just a bandaid, says the utopian William McDonough. The treatment, maybe the cure, he says is to rethink every aspect of design-from the lifecycle of TVs to the green spaces in communities-with the thought of eliminating waste and pollution forever. Could you build an auto factory, he asks his big clients like the Ford Motor Company, so that a bird flying overhead wouldn’t notice any change from the natural environment?
McDonough uses wood from sustainable forests, and his designs take inspiration from the local landscapes. He works on factories that produce wasewater you could drink, buildings that are net producers of energy, and fabrics so free of chemicals you can use them as compost, even eat them. William McDonough’s Next Industrial Revolution is this hour on The Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
William McDonough, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, founding designer of William McDonough & Partners, and recipient of the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development
and David Orr, Chair of the Environmental Studies program at Oberlin College and author of “Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect”.