When authors Michael Braungart and William McDonough conceived the title of their 2002 book "Cradle to Cradle," they were playing off the well-worn phrase "from cradle to grave," which they apply to the model of manufacturing since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

From page 27, after a description of a dump:

"Unfortunately, all of these things are heaped into a landfill, where their value is wasted. They are the ultimate products of an industrial system that is designed on a linear, one-way cradle-to-grave model. Resources are extracted, shaped into products, sold, and eventually disposed of in a 'grave' of some kind, usually a landfill or incinerator. You are probably familiar with the end of this process because you, the customer, are responsible for dealing with its detritus. Think about it: You may be referred to as a consumer, but there is very little that you actually consume — some food, some liquids. Everything else is designed for you to throw away when you are finished with it. But where is 'away'? Of course, 'away' does not really exist. 'Away' has gone away."

Two points: First, I'm not sure I buy their tight definition of consuming. I'm consuming the resources that went into my computer and my television right now, even if, for the moment anyway, I'm not putting either one of them in my mouth.

Meanwhile, before moving on, I also want to note, and not for the last time, that for an architect and a chemist, these guys are pretty good writers. I refer, of course, to their "away" games.

And then, the kicker, from page 28:

"What most people see in their garbage cans is just the tip of a material iceberg: The product itself contains on average only 5 percent of the raw materials involved in the process of making and delivering it."

To me, this is quite akin to the carbon dioxide that nobody sees but is among the more serious costs of burning fuel. It's discouraging to think that even though we sort our refuse and recycle what we can, we're not capable of denting the waste stream generated by what we buy, because the vast majority of it was tossed before it reached us.

Copyright by the authors; published by North Point Press.