2 comments about The New Economy of Nature: The Quest To Make Conservation Profitable.

1. The New Economy Of Nature: The Quest To Make Conservation Profitable is both a business and environmental book. Gretchen C. Daily and Katherine Ellison study the ways that human self-interest can be harnessed to protect Mother Earth, as pure philanthropy combined with government regulations simply are not enough by themselves to stand against naked human greed and unchecked commercial exploitation. From crises in biodiversity, to issues of the stratosphere, The New Economy Of Nature cogently draws upon ideas, examples, and situations worldwide to lend hope for the cause of financially motivated conservation. The New Economy Of Nature is an important contribution to Environmental Studies and highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to operating a successful commercial venture through making conservation profitable.



2. The only thing that may be lacking is that it lacks the resources to put these ideas into practice. For example, although there are many great examples and names mentioned, and the book is very inspirational, it would be aided by an appendix of practical tools for people/organizations looking to replicate the cases mentioned here. Otherwise, I have nothing but great things to say about the book for those interested in an overview of what is possible in terms of public goods valuation for ecosystem services.

1 comments about Accident Prevention Manual: Administration & Programs 12th Edition (Occupational Safety and Health Series (Chicago, Ill.).).

1. It arrived in great shape and the order was shipped quickly. I would once again order from this company

1 comments about The Principles of Sustainability.

1. This book is a must for anyone that is interested in Sustainability. It takes the reader through all the history and tries to give as much neccessary background information as possible to get the big picture on each historical event and milestone. Allthough the author sometimes becomes a bit too subjective, he doesn't impose a view and tries more to inform. Definitely a book worth having for references on Sustainability events.

5 comments about The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century.

1. All the contributors, projects and initiatives mentioned in the book are indeed worthy of applause.
   
   However, the book is simply a hodgepodge of references, difficult to read, and flows poorly.
   
   Finally, Amory Lovins is NOT the author! He contributes a brilliant forward to the publication, but is not the author.
   
   Basically, you're best served buying the books by Lovins and McDonough, then following progress on the topics they discuss via RMI website and the site mentioned by this book's authors.



2. This book is for everyone who is despondent about humanity's chances of living past the next hundred years. Crucially, this book is both for those who view saving the planet and ourselves as a moral imperative and for those who ask how, and when, and even can we afford it. Lovins' "Natural Capitalism" sketched out how businesses could enhance their profitability by changing their paradigm towards something that thinks beyond the next quarter.
   
   This book differs from Natural Capitalism, another brilliant read, in that it moves past the concepts to look at the nuts and bolts of a movement that encourages business to mesh the pursuit of profitability with environmental security through innovation. This book throws light on the structure behind the sketch of Natural Capitalism.
   
   Previous books such as Suzuki's `Good News for a Change', Benyus' `Biomimetics' and even Lovins' Natural Capitalism describe success stories without ever really detailing what you need to do to make one of these success stories yourself. You won't see much in the way of "this requires...", "they should..." or "they shouldn't.." in other texts; you will in this one. In short, this book is also a "how-to" manual written by people who have experience of `making a difference'.
   
   The section on how to use industry cluster development to reorient firms, communities and government towards long term profitability, or in many cases simple survival, is a case in point. The guidelines on processes and institutional frameworks mesh seamlessly with revolutionary work done by organizations such as ZERI (Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives) to provide a sustainable, fruitful, profitable and socially just future for all of us.
   
   My recommendation is that if you're one of those people who say "I'm concerned but what can I do?" then start by buying this book for your political representative, your boss and any concerned friends you might have.



3. The book (The Natural Advantage of Nations) shows a lot of good arguments to convince skeptics. To highlight those who have profited from sustainability is a good strategy. I hope the book will be an eye opener for at least a few of those, not yet occupied by sustainability.
   
   Frank Zimmermann, City of Heidelberg, Head Agenda 21-Office
   
   
   
   Emerging from Australia, this (The Natural Advantage of Nations) is a tightly textured textbook packed with detail and coming from a multidisciplined source of experienced voices, it is a treat to read, knowing that this is youth at its most powerful - focused, aware and fully integrated in their points of view. It is supported by the CSIRO, which in my small opinion is, with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), one of two Australian organizational Jewels - both now part of the public commons.
   
   ....I'm jumping out of my chair to tell you more detail from this book because there is so much excellent material in it for students of any subject.
   
   A reader, Web-of-UNME
   
   
   
   I recommend an Australian inspired book "The Natural Advantage of Nations" to anyone who is seriously interested in a sustainable form of capitalism to give all people the chance to enjoy the quality of life of the West.
   
   David Sealey, Reader
   7 March 2007
   
   
   [...]



4. Amory Lovins, et al., focus on solutions, not problems. Alternative "soft" pathways, from an international perspective provide the first of many blueprints for sustainability through effiiciency. This discusses, in detail, examples from other countries and shows how US arrogance is leaving us behind, costing more and limiting alternatives. We are lagging in every sector - industry, transportation, farming, construction, energy, housing and our global impact.
   
   At present the US has the highest greenhouse gas emissions. India and China are close behind and will soon surpass US emissions. It will take an international effort to mitigate global climate weirding. This provides constructive pathways that apply to individual and regional lives on a personal level.



5. I found NAON to be a encyclopaedia on Sustainability and ideal for manufacturers that can not afford a Sustainability Expert... the book is a great way to learn and/or review all the key concepts and programs that are moving the world of Sustainability. It is a guide on how to position your company to profit or at least not lose out in this new world of manufacturing.
   
   Marvin Klein
   President, PortionPac Chemical Corporation

5 comments about Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth (New Catalyst Bioregional Series) (Paperback).

1. This book is about the environmental costs that humans have on our planet, especially those humans living in developed countries. The authors contend that we are using up the resources of the planet at an astounding rate, such that little will be left for generations of the future. In other words, our present lifestyle is unsustainable. The authors argue that a measure of sustainability can be calculated by adding up the resources used by a group of people, and translating this to area on the earth, which yields roughly the total amount of land needed by the group to live sustainably, or their "ecological footprint". They point out that people in developed countries tend to have much larger ecological footprints than those in developing countries, but even amongst developed countries, there are large differences, and that Americans have huge ecological footprints compared to people from most other countries. In fact, in order for everyone on Earth to live as Americans do, it would require several additional planets to provide the resources and disposal space for waste.
   
   The beginning chapters of the book define sustainability and the concept of ecological footprint. They also argue that our present practices are not sustainable. In the third chapter, we find the general idea of how an ecological footprint can be calculated, and the types of resources that need to be accounted for. The authors also run through a few examples of how footprints can be calculated on a nation by nation basis. They don't claim to have developed a conclusive method for calculating ecological footprints, especially on an individual basis, though they invite interested readers to do so on their own (there are numerous suggestions for how to do so on the Web). The last part of the book suggests some possible strategies for creating a more sustainable world. Endnotes citing sources appear following each chapter. There is a glossary, but no index. The book includes a number of black-and-white illustrations and cartoons.
   
   The authors argue that "The strength of the Ecological Footprint analysis is its ability to communicate simply and graphically the general nature and magnitude of the biophysical `connectedness' between humankind and the ecosphere." They go on to comment "Ecological Footprint analysis can estimate the balance of trade in load-bearing capacity as embodied in the energy and material flows associated with trade goods and biogeochemical cycles." These ideas are interesting and hefty- -the text is somewhat theoretical and aimed towards those who are fascinated with macroeconomics. The style of writing is not for everyone, but there are some very valid points to mull over. For example, in a box discussing efficiency gains and sustainability, the authors point out that in the past, efficiency gains have led to more consumption rather than a decrease in resource usage, so we can't rely on efficiency gains as a solution to over-consumption.



2. During the past half a century human beings have been
   multiplying at such a rate that the number of humans on Earth has
   more than TRIPPLED ! Also, the "well to do" section of humanity has been increasing constantly their desire to have a bigger and bigger share of Erth's "goodies". The unfortunate result of these two factors has DEVESTATED the Earth's environment to the point of collapse. This book, which is written in a language which anyone can understand clearly, gives an excellent account of such important items like "true sustainability", HUMAN footprint on the biosphere, and what will happen if we all do not start realizing that we have already exceeded the Earth's capacity to carry us by 200 to 300 % !! So, please READ IT !



3. Back when Rees and Wackernagel wrote Our Ecological Footprint, no one was looking at the problem in that way.
   
   Now that everyone has jumped on the "our-planet-is-finite" bandwagon, we need to be reminded that this is where it started.
   
   Much research has been done since it came out, and some of the figures will no doubt be out of date, but it still belongs in every environmentally conscious person's collection. Buy it while you can!
   
   G. Bisaillon



4. Our Ecological Footprint cuts through the talk about sustainability and introduces a revolutionary new way to determine humanity's impact on the Earth. It presents an exciting and powerful tool for measuring and visualizing the resources required to sustain our household, communities, regions and nations. Equipped with useful charts and throught-provoking illustrations, our Ecological Footprint converts the seemingly complex concepts of carrying capacity, sustainability, resource use, waste disposal, and more into a graphic form that everyone can grasp and utilize.



5. This wonderful little book presents an excellent tool for evaluating human impact on our planet. The idea is simple but the ramifications are profound. We each require a certain amount of land area to provide the wherewithal to continue living. The requisite area depends first on absolute needs and expands depending upon other consumption. This space requirement is our ecological footprint. When that idea is extended to cities or countries we can get a clear picture of a culture's impact on the planet. Using this lens we find that the North American per capita footprint is over ten times that of India with the other Western industrial nations clustered near our end of the scale. As we are often reminded, if our consumption patterns were to be implemented world wide, we would need a few extra planet's worth of land and resources. The dilemma facing us in the very near future is how to reduce our current footprint, allow space for improvement in the lives of the one billion persons living in absolute poverty, and preserve some vestige of the natural world as both an ecologic shock absorber and inspirational wellspring. The authors suggest that one way to make impact more tangible is to work from a standpoint of "fair share," our footprint size in an equitably apportioned world. They estimate that after subtracting ice caps, oceans, deserts and mountains, and setting aside current wilderness areas as critical to ecologic stability, there are 8.9 billion hectares of land on earth available for human support. Our per capita share of that number has fallen from 5-6 hectares in 1900 to 1.5 today. Americans each currently command 4.3 hectares worth of goods and services. (A daily newspaper alone consumes 10% of an individual's fair share. Commuting alone by auto is off the chart.) The good news is that standard of living and resource consumption do not move in lockstep. We can do more with less, and the whole notion of a sustainable future depends on how well and how quickly we move in that direction. The bad news is that we have to move very fast. OUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT provides a fine perspective for evaluating and changing your own lifestyle, and should be a required reference for policy makers around the globe.

3 comments about The Natural Step for Business: Wealth, Ecology & the Evolutionary Corporation (Conscientious Commerce).

1. This is a terrifc book in that it not only lucidly explains the framework of the Natural Step but also gives some excellent practical examples of major corporations starting down the path towards sustainability. This will give them a great competitive edge. With examples like the Natural Step model being applied by the likes of IKEA and Interface one can remain optimistic in the face of the torrent of negatives about the degenerating nature of the world environment. I hope that this book will encourgae others to look nto what the Natural Step has to offer..



2. The authors provide a real service with this book. So far much of the published work on The Natural Step framework has remained conceptual, without a lot of practical examples of the model in practice. The case examples of IKEA, Collins Pine, and Interface provide valuable references for organizational managers and consultants who are working to build more sustainable organizations. I highly recommend this book.



3. Exceptional book describing the background of the Natural Step process but more importantly provides evidence that companies who embrace sustainabilty in every aspect will be well rewarded for their efforts. Well done with loads of detail.

4 comments about The Plot to Save the Planet: How Visionary Entrepreneurs and Corporate Titans Are Creating Real Solutions to Global Warming.

1. The author explains that "green= growth". Ultimately,
   carbon emissions drive costs up on many fronts.
   Traffic jams cost $65 billion dollars annually.
   
   The book provides some unique engineering feats to
   promote the "green" goal. For instance, a raised floor
   in a building facilitates an efficient use of the
   duct system so that night air cools the building from
   the bottom up. Resultingly, less air conditioning is used.
   
   
   The Pope Manufacturing Co, of Hartford has built an
   electric car costing $98,000. The Tesla auto costs .02/mile
   to drive. Transportation is known to account for 20% of
   Greenhouse gases. Walmart has cut back energy use by
   creating "green supercenters" . Lower energy use means more
   profits. i.e. This feat is accomplished by using motion
   sensors to control the freezer light.
   
   The German government guarantees that renewable energy
   companies will make money. Heiner Gartner has created a
   solar energy complex ; wherein, 10,000 solar panels
   fuel 1500 houses. Q Cells is a profitable solar energy
   company. Carbon sequestration is a process; wherein,
   greenhouse gases are buried. The ABB Grid System is a
   Swiss company specializing in power. The author explains
   a scenario; whereby. the Mojave Desert can power the
   entire West Coast.
   
   This book ought to be read by the entire USA Congress.



2. Fortune magazine veteran Brian Dumaine has just published a highly readable new book. It will be of interest to anyone in need of having their spirits lifted from the assumptions that we will be hostages forever to third world oil despots, or that global warming must inevitably lead to Pittsburgh being the next great beach town.
   He identifies technological advances that are likely to play a significant role in lessening our middle east oil Jones, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. What makes this an exciting read is that these are not theoretical laboratory experiments, these are tested technologies that are already working their way into daily economic life, or at minimum are in the prototype stage. My favorite is the algae that eats carbon and poops biodiesel.
   Dumaine is a guy who looks more at home in wingtips than Birkenstocks - another reason to feel some optimism after reading the book. He has done his own research and filtered all these ideas through the screen of how much venture capital each idea is attracting. The VCs get plenty of things wrong, but it is not usually because they have failed to thoroughly consider the economic viability of an idea, and these all pass the test.
   Read it. You'll sleep better.



3. Brian Dumaine's "The Plot to Save the Planet" is excellent. As a college student interested in environmental issues, I hear a lot about the coming environmental apocalypse and the heavy burden of CO2 that my generation will inherit. How refreshing to read about real ways to turn the tide!
   
   Dumaine's book focuses on green technologies that have been substantially developed and invested in already -- technologies that can help to reduce our carbon footprint today, whose impact will only grow as investors and consumers continue to recognize their green power and economic viability. It is fueled by the idea that the same creative, entrepreneurial sensibility that got us into this climate change pickle can --- and will --- get us out of it.
   
   "The Plot" covers everything from electric cars to carbon munching algae to green architecture. It is divided by chapter into segments on each of these topics, profiling green up-starts and their venture capital supporters, describing how the new technologies work, how they could reduce our CO2 output, and how they are getting big. Each chapter represents one part of the puzzle, and Dumaine shows that a mosaic of all these new ideas could have an enormous effect.
   
   The book is infused with the author's enthusiasm for the possibilities offered by these new technologies, and the enthusiasm is contagious. "The Plot to Save the Planet" is a highly informative, fun read, written for the layman. Check it out --- you'll enjoy yourself, learn a lot, and feel much better about the many ways we can turn around our energy crisis.



4. I found this very interesting, but not as hopeful as I think Brian Dumaine intended. All the green ideas and enterprises envisioned by the entrepreneurs that Dumaine talked to depend on being cost effective. Solar panels, wind turbines, scrubbed coal, safe nuclear, ponds of algae eating CO2, ethanol from switchgrass, etc., will not be developed until they can produce energy as cheaply as fossil fuels. Dumaine even has a chapter with a subtitle that spells it out: Chapter 2: "Green is the Color of Money: Nothing Happens without Money."
   
   These green alternatives will become cost effective when governments either install a carbon tax that will raise the cost of fossil fuels or otherwise subsidize the green alternatives. Dumaine, incidentally likes the idea of a carbon tax as opposed to what is called a "cap and trade" system in which companies or nations that do little polluting can sell shares to companies or nations that are polluting more. In this way corporations and nations will be encouraged through the marketplace to reduce their polluting ways. The sad thing is that right now it looks like the world as a whole and the US in particular are not ready to decide which, if either, of these solutions to employ.
   
   Another way green alternatives can become cost effective is to wait until fossil fuels become scarce and therefore so expensive that solar, wind, etc., are cheap without subsidies. The danger with this plan--which is the one we have been following willy-nilly--is that by then we may be berthing our ships at the port of Memphis, Tennessee and growing our bananas by Canada's Hudson Bay. That is, if we're lucky. More likely we will be engaged in brutal warfare for scarce resources while we watch the poor people of the world starve to death. And in any case our standard of living will plummet since the relatively high standard of living we enjoy today is based on available, inexpensive energy which will become scarce without alternatives.
   
   Reading this book makes it clear that our energy and pollution problems are with us not because we lack ideas on how to combat them. Dumaine demonstrates that there are ideas aplenty, from hydrogen fuel cells to solar panel farms to ocean wave turbines to geothermal energy, etc. What we lack is the political will to do what is necessary to enact these ideas and the wisdom to choose the right combinations since it is clear that there is no single solution to replacing fossil fuels. When I say "political will" I mean we have to elect people who will have the courage and the foresight to look beyond tomorrow's bottom line and see the consequences clearly some decades down the road when fossil fuels will be in short supply relative to demand, when the only economically feasible answer will be to burn massive amounts of coal in the quick and dirty way coal is burned today. The result will be the return of the horrific pollution that darkened the skies of 19th century London, only this time the extent of the clouds will be greatly increased.
   
   Another disturbing thing about reading this hopeful and very interesting book is what has happened since the book was written. With the global financial crisis upon us, the venture capital for green alternatives has dried up like a shallow pond fanned by hot desert winds. Suddenly we are not using as much oil as we did just a few months ago. The result: a precipitous fall in the price of oil. What this means is that many green alternative projects are suddenly not cost effective. Oil at $150 a barrel makes solar and wind farms good investments. At $50 a barrel, they are likely to lose money.
   
   Incidentally--or not so incidentally, depending on your perspective--our children and grandchildren, whether they like it or not, are subsidizing our use of fossil fuels. They will have to pay the environmental costs. Dumaine quotes Hermann Scheer, a member of Germany's parliament as expressing this view, and then explains: "...though it looks like we now enjoy cheap fossil fuels, the fact is that we are dumping the real costs--the droughts and floods caused by global warming, air pollution, and world conflicts--on our children and their children. It is not the legacy decent people should leave their offspring." (p. 171)
   
   Dumaine estimates this de facto subsidy at about $500-billion worldwide per year. He estimates that the true price of gas to society is $3 to $4 more than we currently pay. (p. 172) If the real cost were added on in the form of a carbon tax, green alternatives would become cost effective and investors would not fear becoming suddenly priced out by an OPEC decision to pump a lot more oil.
   
   In answer to those who think that green technologies need to stand on their own without government subsidies, Dumaine notes that "many twentieth-century American industries would not have developed as quickly as they did--if at all--without government largesse." He points to the auto industry which benefited from the billions of federal dollars that our government invested in the interstate highway system as an example. He could add the trucking industry as well.
   
   One of the reasons for this head in the sand attitude so prevalent in the United States is the faith-based belief that the future will take care of itself or that something like the "rapture" will come and make all our good intentions moot. And then there are people who care only about themselves and the here and now. Not so strangely that is the way corporations, by their very nature, "think." It is these short-sighted and bottom-line directed entities that are largely making the decisions for us about how we will fuel our economies. We need to make those decisions ourselves.

No comments about Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long Term Performance (Environmental Markets Insights Series).

1 comments about How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take To Change a Christian?: A Pocket Guide to Shrinking Your Ecological Footprint.

1. I bought this as part of our church's effort to be better stewards of our property. This was the most superficial of works. It had nothing new to offer and was certainly not worth $8.00. I would compare it to an article in a mass market periodical. For a church that is watching its budget, it was a real waste of money.

5 comments about Voices into Choices: Acting on the Voice of the Customer.

1. The Voice of the Customer is an emerging discipline in global business today. "Voices into Choices" is one of the best text I have read on the subject of how to go about obtaining, analyzing and turning customer data into innovative solutions. The book is laid out in easy to follow chapters that takes you through a simple step by step process. Each chapter starts out with a one page summary of that particular step. Additionally this page is very useful to go back to as a review. At the end of each chapter is a checklist that enables you to make sure you are ready to move onto the next step. The book is conveniently wire bound to keep it open to the page you need. If you are interested in optimizing your customer research, this book is for you.



2. The principles used in this book are some of the most useful I have come across. In one book it allows teams to analyse a problem in a structured way, come up with solutions and make execution plans. All without the members of the teams killing in each other. The techniques allow people to do this because it is based on logic and fact instead of opinion.



3. As a Research Fellow with the Procter & Gamble I purchased over 200 copies of this to provide a training framework for our people in Product Development positions worldwide who have responsibilities for understanding, and more importantly effectively translating the consumer's desires into breakthrough products. This 'manual' demystifies this very human process in exciting -not boring- formats. The processes described are those that were once only understood by a limited number of professionals. Voices into Choices makes listening, gathering, digesting, and communicating consumer needs a fundamental new skill that can be learned and mastered by an infinite range of businesses, profit and non-profit.

   I have used the skills learned to map needs for several new, global P&G products, and at the same time used it for my church long-range planning process. These are core skills that seem boundless; only limited by the imagination of the person who has learned them.

   Although I have recently retired from P&G, it will stay as a primer that I will continue to use my consulting business.




4. This book captures a process we relied on heavily at McKinsey and Co. It is a step by step guide to helping project teams understand, interpret and act upon the customers' needs. This book is helpful to anyone running a project - whether it is an internal or external project. As the president of a large business, I am ready to buy this book for my entire staff. I would be thrilled if my employees ran projects in this manner and streamlined their communication with me. One of the most useful books I have read in the last five years and hopefully one that my staff will quickly adopt as their process they use to manage.



5. I have used the Voice of the Customer and Concept Engineering processes for the past 7 years at both large and small companies and have continued to relly on this book. The process can be well adapted based on the scope of the project. The book is very cleary laid out and is an excellent reference. It is packed full of helpful tips and information. I recommend it to anyone wanting to proactively listen to their customers.