The most interesting section of Cradle to Cradle for me was the section in which William McDonough and Michael Braungart describe their work with Ford Motor Company to redesign their Rouge plant to be eco-efficient.McDonough and other environmental architects (David Orr, etc.) are known for their work on college campuses, but it is hardly surprising that colleges (bastions of liberal, forward-thinking professors and students) would be engaged in next wave of environmentalism. What is more surprising is that not only a company, but a company that produces a product so harmful to the environment as cars, would be interested in making their oldest plant eco-efficient.
What is especially interesting about the case of Ford is that even for the automobile industry, the company is not known for being environmentally proactive. Like other American car companies, Ford scrapes by, producing cars that barely meet CAFE standards (although this has changed slightly since the most recent recession). It is encouraging that this company could adopt eco-efficiency in their building design, if only for one plant.
What is needed is a revolution in industry so that more companies adopt this model on a wide scale. Why has the Rouge plant not been more widely advertised? Why is this not pushed in every single commercial? An adoption of eco-efficiency in construction would lead to a healthier, happier workplace for so many Americans.
Kudos to Ford for giving this a try. If only this could expand into other factories and into their design aesthetic. They've seen how eco-efficiency works for them, it's time for them to share the wealth and design eco-efficient cars for the rest of us.
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