Introduction
About 370 delegates registered for this meeting despite its “off the beaten track” location’ and others arrived to take part in the numerous private meetings set up in the same hotel. EDANA had courageously invited 2 key speakers with decidedly anti-disposable views and these added a dimension not experienced at earlier Outlooks.
Cradle to Cradle
Professor Michael Braungart of Buro Braungart (Germany) is the co-author of “Cradle to Cradle”, a book propounding the need to abandon attempts to minimise the impact of products on the environment. Instead it advocates developing new products and processes which are beneficial to health, the environment and nature.
“Minimise-impact” thinking leads to the conclusion that economic growth is bad and ultimately to the conclusion that population must be controlled. Minimising their impact is an admission that products were badly designed in the first place so using less becomes good. Using less to reduce environmental damage is no better than travelling more slowly in the wrong direction rather than turning round and heading in the right direction. “You don't protect the environment by destroying it more slowly”.