A few weeks ago a student of mine told me about a book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, that he had been recommended to read in preparation for the upcoming IB Geography exams.
The book has many connections to the IB Geography course, with clear links to the core of Unit 1 – Population, Unit 2 – Climate Change and Unit 3 – Global Resource Consumption. Because it is a useful book for students studying human geography, I thought I’d share some ideas on how to use the book to teach important themes and concepts that are covered in IB Geography.
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things is a book by German chemist Michael Braungart and US architect William McDonough. It is a short read of under 200 pages that explains the design model of ‘Cradle to Cradle’. This systems approach model suggests that we must change our modes of production in a way to promote eco-effectiveness. The model provides a framework through which to produce goods in a more sustainable manner.
The key premise is that once a product has ended its life as a product, it should not be simply thrown away. Rather, its core elements, biological or synthetic, should be reutilized. And this is where design comes in. When designing a product, the model puts most importance into the ways in which the product, after having been used, can be broken down so that its constituents can be put back into the production cycle for new products, or put back into the environment to nourish it. For this to happen, it must have been designed in an intelligent manner, such that it has utility as a product as well as utility once it has reached its end as a product. Hence, the name ‘cradle to cradle’.
For our discussion, I created a few Short Answer Questions along with a simple mark scheme for us to use in order to explore the different ideas explored in the book, and how they connect to the IB Geography course.
1. Suggest why Michael Braungart and William McDonough named their design model ‘cradle to cradle’. [2]
Award [1] for a valid reason, and [1] for expansion, development, or exemplification.
e.g.
The design model was named cradle to cradle because it refers to a circular approach to methods of production [1] in which once a product ends its product life use, it can be broken down and used for the creation of other products, or as ‘nutrition’ for the environment. [1]
2. Differentiate between the ‘cradle to cradle’ design model and ‘cradle to grave’ design model. [4]
Award [1] for explanation of ‘cradle to cradle’ model and [1] for expansion, development, or exemplification. Award [1] for explanation of cradle to grave model and [1] for expansion, development, or exemplification.
e.g
Cradle to cradle refers to a circular approach of production and consumption [1] where products can be reduced, reused, and recycled [1] whereas cradle to grave refers to a linear approach [1] where products are thrown away once used [1].
3. Evaluate the viability of the ‘cradle to cradle’ design model. [6]
Award [1] for valid strength of the ‘cradle to cradle’ design model and [1] for expansion, development, or exemplification.
Award [1] for valid limitation of the ‘cradle to cradle’ design model and [1] for expansion, development, or exemplification.
Award [1] for general appraisal and [1] for expansion, development, or exemplification.
e.g.
A strength is that the ‘cradle to cradle’ is a sustainable solution [1] because it encourages the reduction, reuse and recycling of goods and products so that they are not detrimental to the environment. [1] A limitation is that the ‘cradle to cradle’ will only work if all governments and businesses work together [1]. This would require a lot of logistical and systemic changes, making it difficult to make a reality. [1] Overall, the model has merit because it looks at the fundamental problem of methods of production [1] and designs an end to end solution. [1]
4. Suggest how the ‘cradle to cradle’ design model may be a solution to:
a. the challenges of population growth [2]
b. the challenges of climate change [2]
c. the challenges of resource consumption [2]
Award [1] for a valid reason, and [1] for expansion, development, or exemplification.
e.g.
a. With population growth, more goods and services will be consumed by more people. [1] The ‘cradle to cradle’ design model can produce these goods and products in a more sustainable manner. [1]
b. The production of goods and services in a circular manner such as that of the ‘cradle to cradle’ design model not only reduces climate change but has a positive impact on the environment [1] through the fact that goods and products, once their product life ends, still have value. [1]
c. The ‘cradle to cradle’ design model promotes reduction, reuse and recycling of goods and products [1], meaning that it designs products keeping in mind that there are limited resources that we much nurture. [1]
Beyond textbooks, there are many other books out there that give useful insight and perspective on the themes that IB Geography looks at, such as population, climate, and resources. But what I liked most about Cradle to Cradle was that it is a short read, easily accessible and in an optimistic yet realistic way, provides hope for the challenges we face in relation to our interaction with social and natural environments.
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