A cool compromise between capitalism and our need to fix the environment we’ve taken advantage of. Lots of cool ideas for the future and examples of people/companies making this happen today.

B- Good information about how businesses will start to change and become "greener" and how it is fiscally savvier and smarter to be eco-friendly; written several years ago so many things have changed since then.

I think this book should be a must read for every single person in America. Whether you believe that Global Warming is happening or not, it gives food for thought on how simple changes can have a big impact on how we consume.

This book contains many flaws. Unfortunately, a better book concerning similar subjects is so hard to find.

Though many of the insights from the book have been published in a variety of venues, notably through work and publications of the Rocky Mountain Institute, it is a thought-provoking, engaging exercise in consideration of our material world that should be revisited with regularity. I think this should be a required text for any discussion of "externalities" in b-school econ classes.

Capitalism is probably here to stay. While there are alternatives that can work on a local level, I remain unconvinced that these can either be dispersed widely enough or "scaled up" enough to supplant capitalism as a whole. So the question becomes: how can we make it less damaging -- to our environment? -- to our spirit?

The answer proposed in this book is, simply put, to appeal to the logic of capitalism: i.e. profits. Being good makes sense because it makes money.

Well, almost. While their descriptions of lost opportunities for simple, yet dramatic, efficiencies is a little disturbing (putting the pipe there saves how much?), it is their plea to attach realistic costs to resource usage that really has force. Which is to say that being good doesn't necessarily make sense (money) now, but it will in the long run (if the right legislation is drawn up). Let's hope so -- not for the capitalist's sake but all of ours.

Truthfully, I have a hard time fathoming how anyone could write a book like this without a hefty dose of cynicism. I am probably more idealistic but less optimistic; maybe this book verges on the realistic? Regardless, it is definitely interesting, dense with information and ideas.

I really want to give this book 5 stars because it is incredibly important. The vision it sets forth is revolutionary. I mean that in the personal sense, creating a change in the readers mind which effects their own consciousness as well as that of all. Critically important concept, to value people and the planet's natural resources for what they contribute to the web of life itself rather than just the abstract financial and physical capital they are currently valued as. I gave it four stars because, while it relates some truly amazing cases, at times it is not as concise as I would like. I would love to hear what others think about it too. I was particularly moved by the chapter on the Brazilian city Curitiba, at the very end. Amazing.

ugh. utterly unrealistic book in the vein of "green capitalism," i.e. myth-making for the sake of preserving power hierarchies that dominate us and destroy the planet.

An optimistic look at capitalism-driven ways to get us our of the environmental mess we're in now. Interesting ideas. Hope some of them are accurate.

Slow read but if you're interested in where the future of business- local to international- MUST go then you should read this. The book is almost ten years old but the issues are still very much a hot topic.

Will probably read it again to focus on any parts pertaining to green building, manufacturing etc.

Kafka escribió: «Una vez que uno ha aceptado y asimilado el Mal, este ya no exige que se crea en él». Esto es lo que pasa en el capitalismo desarrollado y especialmente en la actualidad: el «Mal» se convierte en nuestra práctica diaria, de forma que, en vez de creer en él, podemos creer en Dios, dedicándonos a actos de caridad y a cosas por el estilo.

Aquí entra una defensa más refinada del capitalismo que, aunque admite que la explotación capitalista de la naturaleza es parte del problema, trata de resolverlo haciendo que la responsabilidad ecológica y social sea rentable; este es el enfoque del «capitalismo natural», una de las últimas versiones de lo que podemos llamar el capitalismo ético posmoderno. La idea de este movimiento (instigado por Paul Hawken) es nada menos que una nueva revolución en la producción comparable a la de la Primera Revolución Industrial, que generó un impresionante desarrollo material, pero a un inmenso coste para la Tierra (disminución de la riqueza natural, pérdida de la capa superior del suelo, destrucción de especies, etc.). Para contrarrestar esta tendencia destructiva tenemos que cambiar todo nuestro planteamiento: hasta ahora hemos incluido en el precio de las mercancías solo lo que hemos tenido que invertir para producirlas, ignorando los costes para la naturaleza; de ese modo, nuestra prosperidad era ilusoria, ya que, explotando despiadadamente los recursos naturales, estábamos obteniendo nuestras rentas no de los ingresos, sino principalmente de una riqueza heredada. La suma de esta riqueza heredada es el capital de la naturaleza, ese almacén de productos elaborados por la naturaleza durante miles de millones de años de su desarrollo: mercancías como el agua, los minerales, los árboles, el terreno y el aire, así como todos los sistemas vivos (pastizales, bosques, océanos, etc.). Todos estos bienes naturales no solo proporcionan recursos no renovables para nuestra producción material: también realizan servicios indispensables para nuestra supervivencia (regeneración de la atmósfera, fertilización del terreno, etc.). De ese modo, a nuestra noción estándar del capital como valor acumulado deberíamos
añadir el valor económico de la naturaleza como sistema, así como el valor de los recursos humanos.

Viviendo en el Final de los Tiempos Pág.434

Readers are offered a view of the sustainability movement during the late 1990's in Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, by Paul Hawken, Amory B. Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. It was first published in 1999. A 10th Anniversay Edition was published in 2010 with a new introduction by Amory B. Lovins and Paul Hawken that updates the story to include successes of the last decade.

The Bottom Line

Reading about sustainability from a distance of over a decade gave me a new perspective on where we have come from, some successes, and how much further we still need to go. The authors are well respected experts in their fields and delivered information in an interesting and readable way. Showing companies how to change from a businessperson's perspective makes sense to me — companies need to stay in business while they change. I would recommend Natural Capitalism to people interested in a sustainable economic and business future.

Read the whole review at: http://greengroundswell.com/natural-c...