The Next Efficiency Revolution: Creating a Sustainable Materials Economy. - book reviews

Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1995 by J. Baldwin

The Next Efficiency Revolution (Creating a Sustainable Materials Economy) John E. Young & Aaron Sachs. Worldwatch Paper # 121, 1994; 58 pp. ISBN 1-878071-22-X $5 ($8 postpaid) from Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036-1904

The need for energy efficiency has been recognized; we're working on it. Materials efficiency is next, just as Buckminster Fuller insisted with his doctrine of "ephemerolization" -- doing more with less -- sixty-five years ago Studies show that obtaining the raw materials used by industry is much more environmentally and socially destructive than pollution and waste disposal, The remedy calls for using less stuff in the first place, disciplined worldwide recycling of everything recyclable, and designing resource-efficient products for longevity and remanufacturability. Also implied is a need to discourage the very making of fripperous items, Sooner or later, this will have to happen, This little book provides a neat introduction to the issues and principles, and shows the enormous amount of work that has yet to be done.

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There are, for example, 17 sets of specifications governing the use of concrete in the United States, according to the Construction Specifications Institute -- but none of them include any environmental information. Developed by a host of government agencies, private firms, and professional societies, such specifications are what guide designers in choosing materials. But they usually address only such qualities as weight, strength, durability, safety, appearance, and shelf life. Sometimes the specifications even work against sustainable design, as when virgin materials are specified for work that could have been done with used materials.

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In reality, problems with markets for secondary materials are largely a symptom of the promotion of recycling only as a waste-management option rather than as part of a broader materials policy.