LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

On December 4th at 1:45, I attended the World Wide Green Revolution Lunch, which was an informational gathering so that people could learn about the “cradle to cradle” idea, and about increasing sustainability and eco-efficiency. It was held in one of the NYU Law School buildings. Hauser Global Law School Program and NYU’s Deutsches Haus sponsored the event. The lunch was presented by Elisa Maria Lotz, who worked on the book Gemacht für die Zukunft...., which translates to Made for the Future… She is currently one of NYU’s Visiting Doctoral Researchers, which are doctoral candidates that are enrolled in another school and spend a year researching at the NYU Law School. She is from Humboldt University in Berlin. The tone of the event was informal and relaxed, and there were about fifteen people who attended. Attendees sat around a conference table and were encouraged to and ask questions. There was a powerpoint presentation, and footage of the event was being filmed and sent to Frankfurt, Germany through a webcam. There were similar informational meetings taking place all over the world in China, Chile, and Germany.
At the beginning of the lunch, Elisa introduced us to the idea of eco-efficiency that is presented in the book that she worked on. She took two books—one paperback book and one copy of Gemacht für die Zukunft.... She put the books together in a tray and poured water over them, as if they were left out in the rain, tore at the pages, and spilled coffee over them. The paperback book was completely useless and destroyed, but the other book was still in perfect condition. She explained that this was because her book is not made out of paper; instead it is made out of plastics. It is completely waterproof, and it is the first of its kind in the German market. Elisa explained that even though books are made out of paper, they are not harmless to the environment when they are decomposing. There is ink and other chemicals used in creating books that are harmful to the environment during decomposition. The plastic book will remain a book forever, and it won’t biodegrade and harm the environment.
She explained that the old way of producing things was called “cradle to grave,” and it is when products are made for one purpose only, without the consideration of the side effects of the product to the environment or its complete life cycle. For example, a paperback book is made with consideration only to the actual book, without thinking about its effects on the environment after it becomes trash. This practice results in a lot of waste and a loss of resources. She then talked about the new “cradle to cradle” idea, which was developed by Michael Braungart and William McDonough. In a “cradle to cradle” system, industry and production follows the way nature works. Industry should try to preserve the environment rather than harm it. It uses materials that are organic and completely reusable. Elisa said that often, when things are recycled, they are “downcycled,” which means that they are made into a product of lesser value or quality. The “cradle to cradle” concept allows for “upcycling,” which is when the recycled parts are used for quality products of equal value. It considers the whole life cycle of product, so it is made of nontoxic materials that won’t harm the environment.
To explain the concept, she used the example of a cherry tree. She said that for the tree, there is no concept of waste. Everything is organic. The leaves fall to the ground, where they decompose and help the earth, and carbon dioxide is produced. Everything is used as food for another cycle. In the presentation, Elisa also talked about several German companies that had started to use the “cradle to cradle” idea in their products. For example, the furniture company Herman Miller has created a chair that is almost completely recyclable; the chair can be sent back to the factory and its parts can be reused. She also described tee shirts and textiles that can be thrown into a garden and biodegrade in just 100 days. She also talked about her favorite product, the children’s toy PlayMais, which are little pieces of non-modified corn with food coloring. The pieces stick together with water, are completely biodegradable, and they are also edible.
This was a new experience for me, because I had never heard of the “cradle to cradle” concept before. I have obviously heard of the green movement, but I had never given much thought to how exactly we can make products environmentally friendly, and this informational lunch showed how certain companies are starting to make products that are friendly to the environment and can be remade into other quality products. I also learned a little about the economic aspects of “cradle to cradle” and how it is often easier for smaller companies to get involved than large corporations. I had always been interested in the idea of the “green revolution” but the luncheon made me more interested in how it can actually be carried out. The event was valuable to the community and had a positive effect because it explained a concept that many people may not be familiar with, and it also showcased some products that are currently on the market and fit into the “cradle to cradle” idea. I think that the luncheon achieved its aims, because the people seemed generally interested in finding out more about the products, the process of making them, and why they were less harmful to the environment. In order to broaden the impact of the event, I would have made it more available to the wider public. It was advertised on several NYU calendars, but maybe if it had been more publicized around campus it would have had a larger audience. However, in the case of this luncheon, the smaller group of people was nice because it was more relaxed and informal and people had plenty of opportunity to ask questions and share their ideas.

The environmentally friendly PlayMais toy:

The Book: