Reading Summary:

Beautiful looking products usually have underlying ugliness. There is the same amount of atoms on the planet, but humans have turned a lot of them into useless molecules.

Products should be designed to be upcycled. Downcycling is better than a landfill, but it is not cyclical. It is important to research products completely. A “plant based” product can be extremely toxic and bad for the environment, although probably better than the synthetic alternative.

It is possible to burn fossil fuels safely, but not practical or an efficient use of time. Fossil fuels enabled our current world, but it is time to move on to something else. Biofuels do emit carbon, but it does not add to the carbon cycle like fossil fuels do. Potential energy sources such as wave power have huge amounts of energy contained in them that should be explored.

Embodied energy is a big part of a product’s impact. Even products that use no power during its lifetime can have a big impact on the environment from production, shipping, etc.

Dilution is not good. We do not know the effects of many chemicals that we use today. The idea that it is safe unless proven dangerous is not smart. We should only disperse of chemicals in the world if it benefits where it is being dumped.

Tracing materials and products back to their origins can provide a lot of information. Many times natural materials and processes such as fishing, hunting, etc are harmful to the surrounding environment. Although not necessarily practical, it is best to buy products that were produced locally and to thoroughly research the methods used in manufacture. Since tuna fishing cannot be done with nets anymore, boats use lines and bait. Albatross try to eat the bait and are dragged underwater and killed. Side effects like this are detrimental to species and can be easily avoided.

Electricity produces no emissions during use, but producing electricity uses a lot of fossil fuels. Once solar and other renewable systems of energy are in place, electricity will be pretty clean.

There is a lot of waste in production, which makes no sense because companies are throwing away money. It would be in their favor to research efficient and green production methods.

Clever approaches to upgrading and repairing products can extend the life of products and reduce waste. Engineering a product so that it is easy to upgrade the interior components or so that the exterior skin can be changed means that people will not throw away old products when newer models are introduced.

One college had a big oak beam as a key structural component. The architects planted an oak tree when the building was constructed, however, so when it eventually rotted, there was an oak tree from which a new beam could be milled.