Originally published in '99, I read this book 4 years ago, but had to reread it because of its unparalleled ability to provoke thought. This isn't just a book on economics or a book about saving the environment, this book represents the next evolution in economic thought. It posits that environmentalists and capitalists are not at odds in any way, in fact, they want the exact same things, namely to save resources and build a resilient (eco)system. I truly cannot say enough good things about this book; if you love money or the planet earth, then you owe it to future generations to read this book.

Really this book should get 6 stars. It is the most thorough explanation of progressive economics that I have ever read. It is extremely detailed and very convincing. It has helped me think more clearly about such diverse topics as management style, taxes, solving problems in context (as opposed to isolation), and the future. Everyone should read this even though its a little thick. It's also very gracefully argued.

Hawken's work enlightens the reader about the depth of obvious contemporary issues regarding industry and modern life vs. the environment while suggesting possible solutions based on studies and approaches already executed by industry leaders and visionaries throughout the world. The writing style and overall narrative of the book may be a little too technical and academic at times, since it goes into painstaking detail (from statistics to lengthy study references) of the environmental impact of certain practices (such as irrigation for mass agriculture and the production of aluminum cans for sodas) as well as the details of innovative environmentally-conscious practices. In the end, this is a work aimed to persuade people within their respective industries more than a reading intended for anyone interested in the environment.

As an environmental educator and concerned citizen, I’m frequently disheartened about our seemingly conscious destruction of our planet. This it was a truly exciting eye-opener to read this missive from three leading thinkers about how industry, which many of us think of as the bane of the earth, can reverse course and make the change we need. All you have to do is read the daily paper to know that politicians won’t do it! The book is full of dozens of creative and inspiring examples of people reinventing our world. I know that this presentation, like many others, has its critics among the environmental movement – that’s too bad. We can’t afford to form our firing squad into a circle. Even if you think industry should just go away, read this book and reconsider.

As an author, I learned something else from this book: get as many friends and critics as possible to review your work. Page after page of small print, naming so many people who helped make this book a reality reminded me that no matter how thoroughly I thought I had reviewed my work, I should always have someone (or many someones) to review it.

Old favorite.

Empowering read for environmentalists

This book should be required reading for all econ and business majors. However, humanity is already way past the point of turning back the tide of environmental destruction. The damage is still being done, and the only thing we can hope to do now is lessen the impact of this damage.
Currently, the majority of environmental destruction is being done in the third world (thanks mainly to the greed of first world countries, or, rather, our insatiable need to maintain our current standard of living). What needs to be done then, is to spread ideas touted in this book to those countries.

Capitalism as many know is an economic system based on private ownership of capital and the means of production, where the creation of goods and services are designed to make a profit. What most people don't know is that this system as its been implemented (and under-regulated) is completely unsustainable as it promotes the production of consumable products (rather than re-usable or longer lasting products), a high level of waste production, and environmental depletion in general. When we "borrow" environmental capital and never pay it back (e.g. mining, fossil fuels, fresh water, etc.), this environmental price is not appropriately reflected in the price of a product. This is perhaps the biggest failure of capitalism as we use it today. What this book addresses is how we can integrate the idea of capitalism and sustainability through several methods including but not limited to: environmental foot-print taxation (including carbon taxes, etc.), and changing from a consumable goods economy to a services economy. By taxing corporations for their environmental foot-print, they can no longer use natural capital as if its a free or cheap resource. This means that in order for the prices of products to remain competitive, companies would instead compete for reducing environmental foot-prints to increasing their profit. We know how innovative companies can be when it comes to making a profit, and if their profit was at stake with this new legislation, they would compete to improve truly "green" technologies. Over time companies would find ways to save money by doing things in a more sustainable manner. As for transforming a consumable goods-based economy to a service-based economy, we would have products re-used, recycled, and designed with a "lease" in mind. That is, we would design cars, electronics, etc. so that rather than using it til' it breaks and throwing it away, we use a product for a certain amount of time and have an industry designed to repair and re-use many of these materials. People would never buy a refrigerator or automobile, rather they would lease it. At the end of the lease, when it is returned to the company that produced it, they would repair it or harvest the materials for new products. This dramatically reduces waste and thus minimizes the use of natural capital. Furthermore, by using renewable energy as our primary (if not only) source of energy, again we have a sustainable model that will work for posterity. In a nutshell, we can have capitalism as well as sustainability, as long as we implement legislation that supports a "natural capitalism" business model. The book is a bit' of a dry read, but provides many examples of how the industry is changing, and what needs to be done if we are to have any hope of maintaining a quality of life that first-world nations have become accustomed to.

This is an economics book- expect it to be at least a little dry and hard to get thru. BUT i would recommend it to anyone with any interest in environmental and social concerns. it presents some very interesting and original solutions to problems, and a new thought process for evaluating business and government.

I expected a lot from this book and, as is normal with expectations, they were not met. Not that the book isn't good but maybe I should have read it 10 years ago when I first picked it up. Time has a way of making some ideas seem dated, even if these ideas are still important. Tunneling through prices and looking at design as a whole rather than an accumulation of individual steps is important to keep in mind. Optimizing pieces of a puzzle on their own doesn't mean the whole is efficient. All good to keep in mind but how much do i have to know to do a project myself? Maybe that's just my shortcoming. It would seem like an industry would have come up to help people look at the entirety of a project - home remodeling, in particular since that seems like an area where people would need the most help - but that doesn't seem to be the case. Or maybe it is but they companies are few and far between. The book makes good points but I just found it less than gripping.

A generally uplifting book giving hope through economic principles in our capitalistic society to our most pressing environmental (climate change, solid waste, toxic waste) and energy (security, reliability, and cost) problems. Helps to break the opinion "barrier" that environmental quality must come at a price to a reduced quality of life and cost to our economy. Instead, the premise of the book offers bridges what is considered high quality environmental care from core ecological principles with the principles of efficiency and profit that keep today's market system humming.

Has a slight tendency to be a little too "economic" and loses some relavancy given the political/cultural/social realities that also encompass the systems that drive our positive and negative impacts on our environment.

In some respects it is a little sad that many of the predictions made back when this book was printed still haven't "happened". None-the-less the broad principles it discusses still apply today. The section on Caritiba is also very inspiring ...