|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Amazon
In Natural Capitalism, three top strategists show how leading-edge companies are practicing "a new type of industrialism" that is more efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating jobs. Paul Hawken and Amory and Hunter Lovins write that in the next century, cars will get 200 miles per gallon without compromising safety and power, manufacturers will relentlessly recycle their products, and the world's standard of living will jump without further damaging natural resources. "Is this the vision of a utopia? In fact, the changes described here could come about in the decades to come as the result of economic and technological trends already in place," the authors write.
They call their approach natural capitalism because it's based on the principle that business can be good for the environment. For instance, Interface of Atlanta doubled revenues and employment and tripled profits by creating an environmentally friendly system of recycling floor coverings for businesses. The authors also describe how the next generation of cars is closer than we might think. Manufacturers are already perfecting vehicles that are ultralight, aerodynamic, and fueled by hybrid gas-electric systems. If natural capitalism continues to blossom, so much money and resources will be saved that societies will be able to focus on issues such as housing, contend Hawken, author of a book and PBS series called Growing a Business, and the Lovinses, who cofounded and directed the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank. The book is a fascinating and provocative read for public-policy makers, as well as environmentalists and capitalists alike. --Dan Ring --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Hawken (The Ecology of Commerce) and Amory and Hunter Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank, have put together an ambitious, visionary monster of a book advocating "natural capitalism." The short answer to the logical question (What is natural capitalism?) is that it is a way of thinking that seeks to apply market principles to all sources of material value, most importantly natural resources. The authors have two related goals: first, to show the vast array of ecologically smart options available to businesses; second, to argue that it is possible for society and industry to adopt them. Hawken and the Lovinses acknowledge such barriers as the high initial costs of some techniques, lack of knowledge of alternatives, entrenched ways of thinking and other cultural factors. In looking at options for transportation (including the development of ultralight, electricity-powered automobiles), energy use, building design, and waste reduction and disposal, the book's reach is phenomenal. It belongs to the galvanizing tradition of Frances Moore Lapp?'s Diet for a Small Planet and Stewart Brand's The Whole Earth Catalog. Whether all that the authors have organized and presented so earnestly here can be assimilated and acted on by the people who run the world is open to question. But readers with a capacity for judicious browsing and grazing can surely learn enough in these pages to apply well-reasoned pressure. Charts and graphs, with accompanying CD-ROM. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the environmental economics bible people seem to think,
By A Customer
This review is from: Natural Capitalism (Paperback)
Natural Capitalism suffers some fatal flaws, while not a complete waste of time, not a book to read if you want great ideas that can make it out of the ivory tower. While claiming to provide a path for evnvironmental and social justice, this book blithely ignores the actual impacts of its ideas on the lower classes as well as the prevalence and tenacity of international monetary and banking organizations. While touting that having people pay for rental on material goods, or pay for the service they supply, rather than purchasing the item(such as washing machines) will reduce the number of them in landfills each year, he is ignoring that ultimately someone is going to be owning the machines and therefore holding the capital investment. Those who pay for the service(sound a lot like going to the laundrymat?) will simply be throwing their money into the maintenance of the company's capital investment. The authors further ignore that most countries outside the first world have their economics and politics dictated by international monetary regulations. While this book does present some instances of environmentally friendly ideas and archtecture, such as a banking building in Amsterdam, they do not provide the scripture that most people seem to feel they do. Further, they are basing environmental sustainability off technology such as photovoltaic cells, which do provide cleaner energy by process than oil or coal, but contain heavy metals that are put back into the environment as toxins and require large scale mining and smelting technology to produce. Ultimately, I thought this book was geared more toward engineering social response through the pocketbook, which the U.S. government already does, than a study in environmental econimics within the capitalist framework.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing,
This review is from: Natural Capitalism (Paperback)
I cannot say much about this book other than Wow. This book re-invigorated my drive to complete my economics degrees. This book explains what is and could be possible with factual data. Amazing!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
What were the glowing reviewers thinking?,
By A Customer
This review is from: Natural Capitalism (Paperback)
The topic of how certain externalities can be better reflected in the costs to producers and consumers without producing the distortions in the market typical of political interventions is an important one, deserving of a serious discussion. Unfortunately, despite what the reviewers who somehow love this book claim, it appears to be nothing of the sort.I say "appears to be" because I bailed out after page 58, something I do only exceedingly rarely on the theory that even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while. But 58 pages of invalid premises, cooked or irrelevant statistics, and sweeping assertions of the authors' prejudices presented as fact were quite enough for me. I will not tire the reader with a compilation of all the whoppers contained on those pages. Suffice it to say that the final straw was the authors' assertion that "had we adopted in 1974 the efficient energy practices of some other advanced industrial countries, and applied the savings to the national debt, we would not today have a national debt." The fact, of course, is that the United States expends the lowest amount of energy per unit of GDP of any major industrialized country. This was written only a couple of pages after the authors advocate decreased productivity in order to hire more workers. Of course, they do not say where the money for this scheme will come from. For those who believe that the authors of this book are insightful, you'll love the "Megatrends" series!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Economic Policy & Development
- Books > Business & Investing > Economics > International
- Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Natural Resources
- Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Theory
- Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Management
- Books > Outdoors & Nature > Conservation
- Books > Outdoors & Nature > Environment > Conservation
- Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > Economics > Economic Policy & Development
- Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > Economics > Natural Resources
- Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > Economics > Theory
- Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > International > Economics
- Books > Professional & Technical > Business Management > Management & Leadership > Management
- Books > Science > Nature & Ecology > Environment > Conservation
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
