Michael Braungart on isolation and energy-efficient lamps

German chemist Michael Braungart is invited all around the world to talk about the Cradle to Cradle concept that he developed together with architect Bill McDonough. With his positive look at what environmentally friendly means, Braungart is convincing more and more regions and companies throughout the Netherlands, including big names such as AkzoNobel and Philips. For the Krant van de Aarde, Diana den Held joined him to talk about the theme of this issue, energy.

“As a consumer, when you want to contribute to solving the climate problem, you’re quickly given advice about how to isolate your home and use energy-efficient lamps. Using less energy so that you emit less CO2 and all into the atmosphere seems like the first step to take. Yet I would like to point something out: today, the quality of air in homes is barely acceptable that it is not at all a good idea to seal up your home.

Many of the products in your home, such as floor covering and furniture, send dust in the air that is bad for you. The indoor air quality of an average European home is three to eight times worse than the outdoor air in a large city because nothing was designed for use in a closed space. Diseases such as asthma and allergies are on the rise: almost half of all children under age 7 are victims of this.

Luckily, products are coming on the market at a quick pace, which offer a healthy living and working environment. You can buy floor covering, upholstery stuffing and wall paint that are good for you. You can already buy chairs, sofas and cupboards that do not emit toxic vapours, as they are made from friendly dyes and materials, which can positively contribute to the environment. There are more and more of them every year. We need this change because only when you equip your home with products that positively contribute to the environment – and in doing so, also to your health – can you actually seal your home.

There is also a snag with energy-efficient lamps, which are heavily promoted in the Netherlands as well as throughout the EU. Some 25 years later, the company that introduced energy-efficient lamps has not developed a system to remove the toxic materials in them. Less than 5% of energy-efficient lamps are recycled in one way or another, while the rest pollutes the environment. And the important materials, which we could easily re-use, are lost. I can’t wait until a new generation of technicians and scientists comes up with a solution for this. I have every confidence that this group will be able of not only looking at energy savings, but at the big picture as well.”

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For the articles in this category I give permission to use the text for use on other websites and/or other media under certain conditions. Condition 1 is that my name as author, Diana den Held, as well as the source, the URL to Gevleugelde Woorden to the text in question, is stated. Condition 2 is that the text cannot be used for commercial purposes. The third and final condition is that the text cannot be altered or transformed. You can place your own title and intro above it, but the text must be placed as I have written it. Moreover, commercial parties should feel free to contact me to discuss the possibilities.

Remark:
This conversation took place in dec 08, at the request of Krant van de Aarde.
krant van de aarde, theme: energy.pdf