New Industrial Revolution

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The New Industrial Revolution has more to do with rectifying or even undoing some of the damage that resulted from the last Industrial Revolution. Rather than a call for industrialization, expansion of mechanization, or a broadening of global markets, the New Industrial Revolution is characterized by merging traditionally contraditory disciplines: environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Ushered in by world-renowned industrial designer William McDonough, the New Industrial Revolution is viewed as a necessity in order to change the direction of the current industrial modality. The New Industrial Revolution will produce a world of abundance and good design - a delightful, safe world that our children can play in.[2]

At the heart of the New Industrial Revolution is a quantum leap in the way that human think of the products that we purchase and consume. The traditional "cradle to grave" product lifecycle must be changed to a system of "cradle to cradle" product flow.[3] This alternative product flow can be characterized as "reuse": returning consumer products to the environment as biological nutrients, or to industry as technical nutrients that can be infinitely recycled.

[edit] Biomimicry

Biomimicry refers to the mimicry of natural systems of production and recycle that are found in nature. Translated to a dynamic system, biomimicry does the following:

1. Considers waste as a resource

2. Diversifies and cooperates to fully use the habitat

3. Gathers and uses energy efficiently

4. Optimizes rather than maximizes

5. Uses materials sparingly

6. Doesn't foul our nest

7. Doesn't draw down resources

8. Remains in balance with biosphere

9. Runs on information

10. Shops locally[4]

[edit] Green Chemistry

The New Industrial Revolution will be incorporating ideas from nature to mimic the ideas and innovations found there. One example where this has been done is with a product called Lotusan. This product mimics the lotus flower leaf's ability to repel dirt and water on its surface and can be applied to buildings for that purpose.

[edit] Architecture

Examples of architectural innovations that are occurring during the New Industrial Revolution are earthships, buildings using green building materials, skyscrapers with garden rooftops for natural cooling, and a general departure from present-day architecture.

[edit] Earthships

Excerpted from Earthships

Earthships are earth-sheltered buildings made of tires rammed with earth. Windows on the sunny side admit light and heat. The open end of the "U" shaped structure faces South in the northern hemisphere, and North in the southern hemisphere, so that the house will catch maximum sunlight in the colder months. An Earthship is designed to interface with its environment wherever possible and create its own utilities. Internal, non-load-bearing walls are often made of a "honey comb" of recycled cans separated by concrete. The walls are then usually thickly plastered, using the pull-tabs on the cans as a lath to hold the adobe and stucco. This is known as a tin can wall. The roof of an Earthship is heavily insulated.

[edit] Permaculture

While the first Industrial Revolution may be characterized by advents in agriculture, such as large-scale monoculture and other such "advances", the New Industrial Revolution represents a departure from the paradigm of large, industrial agriculture where good are shipped long distances and are treated solely as commodities. Permaculture is essentially "permanent agriculture".

[edit] Examples

One example of the New Industrial Revolution is a German corporation that manufactures a paint that mimics the surface of a lotus leaf, allowing buildings coated with it to stay cleaner longer, and resist mold and milder.[5] Aviation experts are using biomimicry in their examination of the small bumps on the flippers of humpback whales, which allow the animals to glide through the water with less drag, and are trying to build them into airplane wings in order to allow for faster and more fuel-efficient flights.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jessica Hume, Powering the new industrial revolution: A look at wind power in Ontario, The Peak, Issue 7 Volume 120 (Simon Frasier University, Oct. 18, 2004), availabe online at http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/2004-3/issue7/fe-wind.html.
  2. ^ William McDonough, "Designing the Future,' Newsweek, May 16, 2005, availabe at [1].
  3. ^ William McDonough, Cradle to Cradle (North Point Press: New York, 2002).
  4. ^ See The Biomimicry Institute
  5. ^ Douglas Gantenbein, "Back to the Drawing Board," Plenty 64 (April/May 2006).
  6. ^ Id. at 66.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Videos

[edit] Further reading

  • David C. Korten, The Post-Corporate World 215 (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publisher, 1999).
  • Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (2008 Rocky Mountain Institute).