Cradle To Cradle

William McDonough and Michael Braungart use subtle rhetoric as a vehicle to express some very practical straightforward concepts. Their book, Cradle to Cradle has the subtitle 'Remaking the Way We Make Things.' This is essentially their main message. To think outside of our comfort zones and institutions. This is not something that readers are always readily willing to do so it take some pathos, ethos and logos from the authors to help corral support of their progressive ideas. They also point to a lot of these new ideas as not just helping the environment but improving the lifestyle and well-being of humans and idea that is appealing to those reading about possible changes.

The authors do use some pathos when they appeal to the reader's emotions again in relatively subtle terms. By comparing our habits to the endearing, take only what you need to survive methods of living things in nature, they make us take a long hard look at our way of life. They describe our ideas of growth and how they compare to natural growth in nature. This is a call for self examination and reflections and it evokes some emotional review of ourselves that is not always easy to do.

Their ethos comes through in the way they position themselves, not as absolute authorities, but as a part of the same group as their readers. A group that is still learning a lot and does not have all the answers. When they propose new technologies such as the very material of their books, they talk about process and speculate about the future but never make absolute statements. Their credibility stems from their honest and open dialogue. It comes off as a sharing of ideas, not a forcing of ideas.

Their logos is present in their knowledge of how certain technological advances can make a measurable difference in the environment. Their knowledge comes out in both the retelling of traditional anecdotes and the descriptions of process in regard to new advancements in living to preserve the environment.