I agree with Jordan that my cynicism has been somewhat dispelled by McDonough and Braungart's fresh ideas and vision for society. I think the whole idea of waste=food and using the closed loop production ideas for wide-spread industries is very innovative and very optimistic. The fact that they have actually achieved the construction of buildings which can be essentially run independently is really quite brilliant and gives me hope that a vision of the future might not be so dark and silent after all.

I respect McDonough and Braungart for their ability to transform the idea of what is profitable and good in the minds of CEO's and manufacturers. They are obviously very passionate about what they do because otherwise, they would not be so successful at persuading companies to accept their ideas and switch to this whole concept of making products that are completely safe for everyone, not just the environment. They have made the transition very profitable, which pleases the businessmen, and also legitimately eco and people friendly. As a consumer, I wish that they had the power to transform industries so quickly that I would never have to worry about getting cancer from my T-shirt ever again.

Most of the texts that we have read have pounded one idea into our brains: whatever you do, it won't be enough. I agree. But, I have come to accept that the world will never be as it was before humans emerged; there will never be forests as dense or natural extinction rates. Humans are destructive by nature and always have been (or at least that's what I thought. I've never imagined people being a GOOD thing for the environment). We are an invasive species, capable of surviving in every environment. To the rest of the species on the planet, we probably seem a step above cockroaches. For me, McDonough has conjured up the best plan for people to co-exist with nature without being harmful by negligent designs and indifference in our systems. He makes me wonder if we really are destined to be detrimental to the planet, or if WE are designed by nature to be better than that. I have come to terms with the fact that the planet will never be as it once was. But I have also adopted McDonough's idea that people can conceivably have a positive impact on some aspects of the environment and that the system does not have to be as it is, nor do we have to strip down to our skivvies, pick up our spears and head back to the caves.

McDonough has given us a small scale model of the kind of buildings and manufacturing that we need to have if we hope to save the planet from further degredation and hopefully save ourselves in the process. The real challange is implementing McDonough's ideas on a broad scale. It takes time to transform a factory or a building into a structure that embodies his beliefs, and it is time that we do not really have. We need to halt biodiversity loss and environmental harm sooner rather than later. Maybe this thought is outlandish, but think of the good that could come if we set Van Jones up with McDonough and Braungart. Jones could train young people to work with McDonough's ideas and they could re-make buildings a lot faster. Maybe I'm hallucinating or something, but it seems like there are people who have good ideas and we should use these ideas now.