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Agenda For A New Economy
From PHANTOM WEALTH to REAL WEALTH
by David C. Korten (Author)
Today's
economic crisis is the worst since the Great Depression.
However, as David Korten shows, the steps being taken to
address it do nothing to deal with the reality of a failed
economic system. It's like treating cancer with a bandage.
Korten identifies the deeper sources of the failure: Wall
Street institutions that have perfected the art of creating
"wealth" without producing anything of real value: phantom
wealth.
Our hope lies not with Wall Street, Korten argues, but with
Main Street, which creates real wealth from real resources
to meet real needs. He outlines an agenda to create a new
economy-- locally based, community oriented, and devoted to
creating a better life for all, not simply increasing
profits. It will require changes to how we measure economic
success, organize our financial system, even the very way we
create money, an agenda Korten summarizes in his version of
the economic address to the nation he wishes Barack Obama
were able to deliver.
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Birth of the Chaordic Age
by Dee W. Hock
(Author)
From AudioFile
In a powerful memoir, a maverick manager tells how he overcame
banking's rigid lending culture to create the electronic payment
system we now know as VISA. His strategies for building trailblazing
teams are illustrated by fascinating stories, all laced with
insights that make the lessons vivid and understandable. The title
suggests a broad, abstract agenda for the program--a history of how
command and control organizations change into the organic systems
required by today's non-linear organizations, organizations he calls
"chaordic." But the program is more about the author's journey than
the management transformation. It's a riveting story, read with
profound understanding by one of today's best voices, a story of a
well-lived life at the center of an important societal revolution.
T.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile,
Portland, Maine --This text refers to
an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
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Blessed Unrest
How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One
Saw It Coming
by Paul
Hawken (Author)
From Booklist *Starred Review* The profusion of good causes and the nonprofit
groups that advance them can seem laughably overwhelming, but
without altruistic grass-roots efforts, the world would be a far
less merciful place. Environmentalist Hawken believes that we are in
the midst of a world-changing rise of activist groups, all "working
toward ecological sustainability and social justice." Rather than an
ideological or centralized movement, this coalescence is a
spontaneous and organic response to the recognition that
environmental problems are social-justice problems. Writing with
zest, clarity, and a touch of wonder, Hawken compares this gathering
of forces to the human immune system. Just as antibodies rally when
the body is under threat, people are joining together to defend life
on Earth. Hawken offers a fascinating history of our perception of
nature and human rights and assesses the role indigenous cultures
are playing in the quest for ecological responsibility and economic
fairness. Hawken also presents an unprecedented map to this new
"social landscape" that includes a classification system defining
astonishingly diverse concerns, ranging from farming to child
welfare, ocean preservation, and beyond. Fresh and informative,
Hawken's inspired overview charts much that is right in the world.
Donna Seaman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Prosperity
without Growth:
Economics for a Finite Planet
by
Tim Jackson
In
this piercing challenge established economics, Tim Jackson provides
a credible vision of how human society could flourish - within the
ecological limits of a finite planet. For the advanced economies of
the western world, prosperity without growth is no utopian dream. If
is a financial and ecological necessity. Fulfilling this vision is
simply the most urgent task of our times.
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Deep Economy
The Wealth of
Communities and the Durable Future
by Bill McKibben (Author)
From Bookmarks Magazine
In offering straightforward solutions to the looming environmental
crisis, Bill McKibben has marched directly into the middle of a
heated debate. Critics' personal beliefs and politics shaped their
reviews, which described Deep Economy as, alternately, a
"masterfully crafted, deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding treatise"
(Los Angeles Times) and a "book-length sermon on what is
wrong with the way we live" (San Francisco Chronicle). Some
reviewers found McKibben's solutions practical and the author
refreshingly unpretentious, while others considered his vision
utopian and his attitude self-righteous. However, they did agree
that McKibben writes compellingly—with warmth, sincerity, and a
sharp sense of humor. His resolute hope for the future will resound
with readers no matter where their loyalties lie. But will it change
any minds?
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
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Dragon Spirit
How to Self-Market Your Dream--A
Zentrepreneur's Guide
by
Ron Rubin,
Stuart Avery Gold
Publishers Weekly
In the company The Republic of Tea, employees are "ministers" and
its tea-buying customers are "citizens." Ministers Rubin and Gold
(chairman and COO, respectively) bring the same quirky perspective
to their new tome, a motivational handbook that wavers between cute
and cloying. The main thesis is similar to that of any number of
books designed to inspire budding entrepreneurs : people should be
"one with their dream," and to achieve it, they must "sell the hell
out of themselves." No surprises there, but at least the authors can
write, and press ahead with their insistent brightness. The book
briefly gets into more serious details-e.g., the relative advantages
of setting up a sole proprietorship or a joint venture-but then
returns to bland exhortations. The occasional jolts of Chinese
philosophy (invoking classic texts like the I Ching and Tao Te Ching)
and the authors' personal stories of their international search for
fabulous teas are the (tea)pot's best ingredients. Other than that,
the brew is somewhat weak.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Eco
Barons
The
Dreamers, Schemers, and Millionaires Who Are Saving Our Planet
By
Edward Humes
From Publishers
Weekly
Pulitzer
Prize–winner Humes (Mississippi Mud) profiles a band of idealistic
environmentalists devoting their lives and fortunes to protecting
nature, including such tycoons as Doug Thompson, the founder of
fashion house Esprit, who now spends his millions buying up
thousands of acres of land to create nature preserves, and Roxanne
Quimby, creator of the cosmetics giant Burt's Bees, who is
purchasing huge tracts of forests in Maine woods to trump the real
estate investor's visions of resorts, golf courses and suburban
homes on clear-cut lands. But other barons are more David than
Goliath. The Center for Biological Diversity, a cash-strapped
nonprofit founded by an owl expert, scientist and mystic and a
former engineering student turned philosopher, is responsible for
the recent campaign to fight climate change by protecting the polar
bear under the Endangered Species Act. Engineering professor Andy
Frank has spent 20 years battling a recalcitrant [auto] industry and
confused policy makers to produce an affordable, plug-in hybrid car.
Readers concerned with conservation will appreciate this optimistic
if starry-eyed introduction to these little-known giants of the
environmental movement. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a
division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Eco-Economy
Building an Economy for the Earth
By Lester Brown
Publishers Weekly
Eco-economic theory calls for harmony between our economy and
natural resources. Our current, untenable, profit-focused economic
model, says Brown (Building a Sustainable Society), depletes
forests, oil, farmland, topsoil, water, atmosphere and species
beyond a sustainable level. Brown, founding director of the Earth
Policy Institute, uses the Sumerians as an antimodel: as the land
was overworked, water sources eventually disappeared. And he uses
forestry as a counterexample: forests secure land and store water,
acting as natural dams. Logging delivers paychecks, but doesn't
consider flood damage from tree loss. Eco-economists would say that
the logger and the town, while temporarily profiting, pay more in
the end in rising insurance costs, flood damage to homes and
infrastructure, increased taxes and disaster relief funds. The goal,
presented here in convincing detail, is to design a profitable
economy that accurately reflects the social cost of abuse of
resources. Brown suggests shifting "taxes from income to
environmentally destructive activities, such as carbon emissions."
Individuals and towns should receive tax breaks for deploying solar
and wind-generated power. However receptive to Brown's excellent,
sophisticated proposals, many readers will wonder how they can
become reality; for eco-economics to work, all world leaders would
need to agree on what makes practices environmentally unsound. (Nov.
5) Forecast: In light of the current administration's poor
reputation for eco-concern and its withdrawal from the Kyoto
Protocol, Brown's book will do well among students, activists and
the growing environmental movement. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business
Information
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Ecology of
Money,
The
by
Richard Douthwaite (Author)
In this Schumacher Briefing, Richard
Douthwaite argues that just as different
insects and animals have different effects
on human society and the natural world,
money has different effects according to its
origins and purposes. Was it created to make
profits for a commercial bank, or issued by
a government as a form of taxation? Or was
it created by its users themselves purely to
facilitate their trade? And was it made in
the place where it is used, or did local
people have to provide goods and services to
outsiders to get enough of it to trade among
themselves? The Briefing shows that it will
be impossible to build a just and
sustainable world unless and until money
creation is democratized.
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Ecology of Place,
The
Planning for
Environment, Economy, and Community
by Timothy Beatley (Author),
Kristy Manning (Author)
The Ecology of Place,
Timothy Beatley and Kristy Manning describe a world in which land is
consumed sparingly, cities and towns are vibrant and green, local
economies thrive, and citizens work together to create places of
eduring value. They present a holistic and compelling approach to
repairing and enhancing communities, introducing a vision of
"sustainable places" that extends beyond traditional architecture
and urban design to consider not just the physical layout of a
development but the broad set of ways in which communities are
organized and operate. Chapters examine:
-
the history
and context of current land use problems, along with the concept
of "sustainable places"
-
the ecology of
place and ecological policies and actions
-
local and
regional economic development
-
links between
land-use and community planning and civic involvement
-
specific
recommendations to help move toward sustainability
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End of Growth
Adapting To Your New Economics Reality
by Richard Heinberg
Economists insist that recovery is at
hand, yet unemployment remains high,
real estate values continue to sink, and
governments stagger under record
deficits. The End of Growth proposes a
startling diagnosis: humanity has
reached a fundamental turning point in
its economic history. The expansionary
trajectory of industrial civilization is
colliding with non-negotiable natural
limits.
Richard Heinberg’s latest landmark work
goes to the heart of the ongoing
financial crisis, explaining how and why
it occurred, and what we must do to
avert the worst potential outcomes.
Written in an engaging, highly readable
style, it shows why growth is being
blocked by three factors:
-
Resource depletion
-
Environmental impacts
-
Crushing levels of debt
These converging limits will force us to
re-evaluate cherished economic theories
and to reinvent money and commerce.
The End of Growth describes what policy
makers, communities, and families can do
to build a new economy that operates
within Earth’s budget of energy and
resources. We can thrive during the
transition if we set goals that promote
human and environmental well-being,
rather than continuing to pursue the
now-unattainable prize of ever-expanding
GDP.
Richard Heinberg is the author of nine
previous books, including The Party's
Over, Peak Everything, and Blackout. A
senior fellow of the Post Carbon
Institute, Heinberg is one of the
world's foremost peak oil educators and
an effective communicator of the urgent
need to transition away from fossil
fuels.
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Energy And Economics
by
William Walsted and Joyce Gleason)
Overview
Energy and Economics is a new and completely revised edition of the
1983 publication of the same name. Since then, many things have
changed in the area of energy economics. New sources of petroleum
have been discovered and developed. More efficient uses of petroleum
products have been introduced and accepted and alternative methods
of power generation and heating have become widespread. The power of
OPEC has been diminished yet remains an economic and political
factor affecting our energy supply, national security, and economic
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Fifth
Discipline, The
The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization
by Peter M. Senge (Author)
From Publishers Weekly
A
director at MIT's Sloan School, Senge here proposes the "systems
thinking" method to help a corporation to become a "learning
organization," one that integrates at all personnel levels
indifferently related company functions (sales, product design,
etc.) to "expand the ability to produce." He describes requisite
disciplines, of which systems-thinking is the fifth. Others include
"personal mastery" of one's capacities and "team learning" through
group discussion of individual objectives and problems. Employees
and managers are also encouraged to examine together their often
negative perceptions or "mental models" of company people and
procedures. The text is esoteric and flavored with terms like "recontextualized
rationality," but the book should help inventory-addled retailers
whom the author cites as unaware of their customers' desire for
quality. Macmillan Book Clubs selection.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The Great Turning
From Empire to Earth
Community (BK Currents)
by David C. Korten (Author)
Danny Glover, Activist and Actor
"An epic work. Exposes the myths that divide us and frames the
stories that can bring us together." |

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Inquiries
Into the Nature of Slow Money
Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered
by
Woody Tasch
Could there ever be an alternative stock
exchange dedicated to slow, small, and local?
Could a million American families get their food
from CSAs? What if you had to invest 50 percent
of your assets within 50 miles of where you
live?
Such questions-at the heart of slow
money-represent the first steps on our path to a
new economy.
Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money presents
an essential new strategy for investing in local
food systems and introduces a group of fiduciary
activists who are exploring what should come
after industrial finance and industrial
agriculture. Theirs is a vision for investing
that puts soil fertility into
return-on-investment calculations and serves
people and place as much at it serves industry
sectors and markets.
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Investing From The Heart
The Guide to
Socially Responsible Investments and Money Management
by Jack A. Brill
From
Library Journal
Financial consultant Brill and freelance writer Reder thoroughly
discuss the concept of socially responsible investing, which
involves the "channeling of personal, community, or workplace
capital toward just, peaceful, healthy, environmentally sound
purposes and away from destructive uses." Investments that can be
considered for these purposes are discussed in detail; what is
available, sources for information, and performance data for certain
investments are provided. While Brill and Reder's investment
philosophy is similar to Ritchie Lowry's Good Money: A Guide to
Profitable Social Investing in the '90s ( LJ 5/1/91) , their book
stands out because of its useful primer on investing and money
management and glossary of terms. A good addition to any money
management/investment collection.
- Steven J. Mayover, Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable
edition of this title.
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Investing with your Values
Making Money and Making a Difference
By Hal Brill, Jack A. Brill and Cliff Feingenbaum
From the Publisher
The
fact is that you can make money and make a difference at the same
time! Now in paperback, this step-by-step guide answers all the
financial basics and makes it easy to link your money with your
values in a high-performance portfolio.
Includes:
- The philosophy and fascinating history that built SRI (socially
responsible investing)
- An explanation of the visionary new framework of "Natural
Investing"
- How to outperform the market and be a force for social change
- Shareholder activism and community investing
- Detailed information on socially responsible stocks, mutual funds,
and bonds
- Stories, lists of funds and companies, worksheets, and scores of
resources
Author Biography: The authors are dedicated financial activists who
have had a long involvement with SRI. Hal Brill and Jack Brill have
been values-based investment consultants for ten years. Cliff
Feigenbaum is the editor of GreenMoney Journal. Hal Brill lives is
Paonia Colorado; Jack Brill lives in San Diego, California; and
Cliff Feigenbaum lives in Spokane Washington. All three authors have
been interviewed extensively on radio, TV, and print
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Land Conservation Financing
by The Conservation Fund, Mike McQueen,
Edward T. McMahon
Book Description
Written by two of the nation's leading experts on land conservation,
Land Conservation Financing provides a comprehensive overview
of successful land conservation programs -- how they were created,
how they are funded, and what they've accomplished -- along with
detailed case studies from across the United States.
The authors present important new information on state-of-the-art
conservation financing, showcasing programs in states that have
become the nation's leaders in open-space protection: California,
Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and
New Jersey. They look at key local land protection efforts by
examining model programs in DeKalb County, Georgia; Douglas County,
Colorado; Jacksonville, Florida; Lake County, Illinois; Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania; Marin County, California; the St. Louis metro
area in Missouri and Illinois, and on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
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Leading Change Toward Sustainability
A Change-Management Guide for
Business, Government and Civil Society
by
Bob Doppelt
Book Description
Although an increasing number of organizations have embraced the
idea of sustainability in the last decade, why do so many
initiatives fail, leading to wasted resources, frustration and
cynicism? Why have so few organizations successfully adopted more
sustainable policies or practices? And when they do get launched,
why do so many efforts plateau after a short time and fail to ascend
to the next level of excellence? What process is required to create
change within organizations to move them towards sustainability?
Because so few resources are available to answer these questions,
Bob Doppelt spent three years researching how the leaders of both
private and public organizations that have initiated and sustained
significant sustainability programs designed and approached them.
His findings, presented in this hugely readable book, will demystify
the sustainability-change process by providing a theoretical
framework and a methodology that managers can use to successfully
transform their organizations to embrace sustainable development.
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Limits
To Growth
The 30-Year Update
by
Donella Meadows (Author)
Jorgen Randers (Author) Dennis Meadows (Author)
From Publishers Weekly
Updated for the second time since 1992, this book, by a trio of
professors and systems analysts, offers a pessimistic view of the
natural resources available for the world's population. Using
extensive computer models based on population, food production,
pollution and other data, the authors demonstrate why the world is
in a potentially dangerous "overshoot" situation. Put simply,
overshoot means people have been steadily using up more of the
Earth's resources without replenishing its supplies. The
consequences, according to the authors, may be catastrophic: "We...
believe that if a profound correction is not made soon, a crash of
some sort is certain. And it will occur within the lifetimes of many
who are alive today." After explaining overshoot, the book discusses
population and industrial growth, the limits on available resources,
pollution, technology and, importantly, ways to avoid overshoot. The
authors do an excellent job of summarizing their extensive research
with clear writing and helpful charts illustrating trends in food
consumption, population increases, grain production, etc., in a
serious tome likely to appeal to environmentalists, government
employees and public policy experts. Copyright © Reed Business
Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
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Local
Dollars, Local Sense:
How to Shift Your Money
from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity
by
Michael Shuman
Americans' long-term savings in stocks,
bonds, mutual funds, pension funds, and life
insurance funds total about $30 trillion.
But not even 1 percent of these savings
touch local small business-even though
roughly half the jobs and the output in the
private economy come from them. So, how can
people increasingly concerned with the poor
returns from Wall Street and the devastating
impact of global companies on their
communities invest in Main Street?
In Local Dollars, Local Sense, local economy
pioneer Michael Shuman shows investors,
including the nearly 99% who are
unaccredited, how to put their money into
building local businesses and resilient
regional economies-and profit in the
process. A revolutionary toolbox for social
change, written with compelling personal
stories, the book delivers the most thorough
overview available of local investment
options, explains the obstacles, and
profiles investors who have paved the way.
Shuman demystifies the growing realm of
local investment choices-from institutional
lending to investment clubs and networks,
local investment funds, community ownership,
direct public offerings, local stock
exchanges, crowdfunding, and more. He also
guides readers through the lucrative
opportunities to invest locally in their
homes, energy efficiency, and themselves.
A rich resource for both investors and the
entrepreneurs they want to support, Local
Dollars, Local Sense eloquently shows how to
truly protect your financial future--and
your community's.
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Making Peace
with the Earth
by
Vandana Shiva
In this compelling and rigorously documented exposition,
Vandana Shiva demolishes the myths propagated by corporate
globalisation in its pursuit of profit and power and shows its
devastating environmental impact. Shiva argues that consumerism
lubricates the war against the earth and that corporate control
violates all ethical and ecological limits. She takes the reader on
a journey through the world's devastated eco-landscape, one of
genetic engineering, industrial development and land-grabs in
Africa, Asia and South America. She concludes that exploitation of
this order is incurring an ecological and economic debt that is
unsustainable. Making Peace with the Earth outlines how a paradigm
shift to earth-centred politics and economics is our only chance of
survival and how collective resistance to corporate exploitation can
open the way to a new environmentalism. |
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Mid-Course Correction
By Ray C. Anderson
Book
Description
Of value to business people, environmentalists, and educators alike,
Mid-Course Correction is a business book about the enviornment
that's written from a personal perspective. With passion and pride,
Ray Anderson, Founder, Chairman and CEO of one of the world's
largest interior furnishings companies, recounts his awakening to
the importance of environmental issues and outlines the steps his
petroleum-dependent company, Atlanta-based Interface, Inc., is
taking in its quest to become a sustainable enterprise -- one that
will never have to take another drop of oil from the Earth.
Thought-provoking and thoughtful, Anderson's story is told from the
heart.. .
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Natural Capitalism
Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
By Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins
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 Cahners Business
Information.
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Natural Step for Business,
The
Wealth, Ecology and the Evolutionary
Corporation
By Brian Nattrass and Mary Altomare
From
Library Journal
Financial consultant Brill and freelance writer Reder thoroughly
discuss the concept of socially responsible investing, which
involves the "channeling of personal, community, or workplace
capital toward just, peaceful, healthy, environmentally sound
purposes and away from destructive uses." Investments that can be
considered for these purposes are discussed in detail; what is
available, sources for information, and performance data for certain
investments are provided. While Brill and Reder's investment
philosophy is similar to Ritchie Lowry's Good Money: A Guide to
Profitable Social Investing in the '90s ( LJ 5/1/91) , their book
stands out because of its useful primer on investing and money
management and glossary of terms. A good addition to any money
management/investment collection.
- Steven J. Mayover, Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable
edition of this title.
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Natural
Step Story, The
Seeding
a Quiet Revolution
By
Karl-Henrik Robert foreword by Ray C. Anderson
Few organizations have been as influential as The Natural Step in
empowering and inspiring people to design a more sustainable world.
In The Natural Step Story, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt describes first
hand the evolution of the Natural Step framework comprised of four
system conditions essential for the maintenance of life on Earth,
together with a robust methodology for how to apply them
strategically. Adopted by a growing number of major companies,
universities and municipalities, The Natural Step is about improving
sustainable economic performance through more devotion to social and
ecological sustainability than one's competitors - rather than in
spite of it. The Natural Step Story will appeal to all with a
passion for sustainability, including business leaders, academics,
journalists, activists, and students.
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Necessary Revolution, The
How individuals and
organizations are working together to create a sustainable world.
by
Peter M. Senge (Author), Bryan Smith (Author), Sara Schley (Author),
Joe Laur (Author), Nina Kruschwitz (Author)
Review
Review: "Senge is best know for The Fifth Discipline ... this book
is far better: it is better written and more powerful. On the
evidence presented here, the case for business sustainability is
overwhelming. Although the authors never say so directly, it seems
clear that the business case for sustainability is so strong that
the personal beliefs of the CEO and the board do not really matter.
Even the most adamant climate-change denier must recognize where the
market is going. Forget the environment: this is business. ... Their
arguments are compelling and there are plenty of examples of
businesses already leading the way." The Financial Times
"An
interesting and important contribution to the burgeoning literature
on the implications of climate change for business. Senge and his
co-authors have produced an excellent volume, which deserves to find
a place on the shelves of any thoughtful manager. The book is an
example of what it is about, since it is both innovative and
radical."
Lord Anthony Giddens, professor emeritus at the Centre for
the Study of Global Governance and the London School of Economics
writing in Management Today, August 2008
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Next Economy, The
by
Paul Hawken (Author)
In
clear vivid terms that we can all understand, Paul Hawken explains
that today's economic chaos is basically the turmoil of change. We
are in transition from a mass economy, in which cheap energy fueled
massive production and consumption of material goods, to an
informative economy, in which fewer goods contain more information
in terms of their design, engineering, durability, and utility. This
shift is evident everywhere and has enormous implications for
everyone. |
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Omnivore's Dilemma, The
A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan (Author)
From Bookmarks Magazine
In The Botany of Desire (2001), about how people and plants coevolve, Michael Pollan teased greater issues from speciously small
phenomena. The Omnivore's Dilemma exhibits this same gift; a
Chicken McNugget, for example, illustrates our consumption of corn
and, in turn, agribusiness's oil dependency. In a journey that takes
us from an "organic" California chicken farm to Vermont, Pollan asks
basic questions about the moral and ecological consequences of our
food. Critics agree it's a wake-up call and, written in clear,
informative prose, also entertaining. Most found Pollan's quest for
his foraged meal the highlight, though the Los Angeles Times
faulted Pollan's hypocritical method of "living off the land." Many
also voiced a desire for a more concrete vision for the future. But
if the book doesn't outline a diet plan, it's nonetheless a loud,
convincing call for change.<BR>Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson
Media, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.
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Overdressed:
The Shockingly High
Cost of Cheap Fashion
by
Elizabeth L.
Cline
Until recently, Elizabeth Cline was a typical
American
consumer. She’d grown accustomed to shopping at
outlet malls, discount stores like T.J. Maxx, and
cheap but trendy retailers like Forever 21, Target,
and H&M. She was buying a new item of clothing
almost every week (the national average is
sixty-four per year) but all she had to show for it
was a closet and countless
storage bins packed full of low-quality fads she
barely wore—including the same sailor-stripe tops
and fleece hoodies as a million other shoppers. When
she found herself lugging home seven pairs of
identical canvas
flats from Kmart (a steal at $7 per pair, marked
down from $15!), she realized that something was
deeply wrong.
Cheap fashion has fundamentally changed the way most
Americans dress. Stores ranging from discounters
like Target to traditional chains like JCPenney now
offer the newest trends at unprecedentedly low
prices. Retailers are producing clothes at enormous
volumes in order to drive prices down and profits
up, and they’ve turned clothing into a disposable
good. After all, we have little reason to keep
wearing and repairing the clothes we already own
when styles change so fast and it’s cheaper to just
buy more.
But what are we doing with all these cheap clothes?
And more important, what are they doing to us, our
society, our environment, and our economic
well-being?
In Overdressed, Cline sets out to uncover the true
nature of the cheap fashion juggernaut, tracing the
rise of budget clothing chains, the death of
middle-market and independent retailers, and the
roots of our obsession with deals and steals. She
travels to cheap-chic factories in China, follows
the fashion industry as it chases even lower costs
into Bangladesh, and looks at the impact (both here
and abroad) of America’s drastic increase in
imports. She even explores how cheap fashion harms
the charity thrift shops and textile recyclers where
our masses of clothing castoffs end up.
Sewing, once a life skill for American women and a
pathway from poverty to the middle class for
workers, is now a dead-end sweatshop job. The
pressures of cheap have forced retailers to
drastically reduce detail and craftsmanship, making
the clothes we wear more and more uniform, basic,
and low quality. Creative independent designers
struggle to produce good and sustainable clothes at
affordable prices.
Cline shows how consumers can break the buy-and-toss
cycle by supporting innovative and stylish
sustainable designers and retailers, refashioning
clothes throughout their lifetimes, and mending and
even making clothes themselves.
Overdressed will inspire you to vote with your
dollars and find a path back to being well dressed
and feeling good about what you wear.
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Paths to a Green
World
The Political
Economy of the Global Environment
by Jennifer Clapp (Author), Peter
Dauvergne (Author)
"Paths
to a Green World provides the most theoretically sophisticated
and sustained study to date on the relationship between economic
globalization and environmental well-being. Rather than write a
diatribe, Clapp and Dauvergne present conflicting views on this
relationship and, in doing so, call on each of us to appreciate the
diversity of environmental thought and probe our own understandings
to work humbly yet urgently for a more sustainable global future."
--Paul Wapner, School of International Service, American University |

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Plenitude
The
New Economics of True Wealth
by
Juliet B Schor
In
Plenitude economist and bestselling author Juliet B. Schor offers a
groundbreaking intellectual statement about the economics and
sociology of ecological decline, suggesting a radical change in how
we think about consumer goods, value, and ways to live.
Based on recent developments in economic theory, social analysis,
and ecological design as well as evidence from the cutting-edge
people and places putting these ideas into practice, Plenitude is a
road map for the next two decades. In encouraging us to value our
gifts- nature, community, intelligence, and time-Schor offers the
opportunity to participate in creating a world of wealth and
well-being.
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Post-Corporate World,
The
By Lester Brown
From the Publisher
A deep
gap is growing between the promises of the new global capitalism and
the reality of the social breakdown, inequality, insecurity,
spiritual emptiness, and environmental destruction left in its wake.
What went wrong, and why? In The Post-Corporate World, David C.
Korten makes a well-documented case that the new global capitalism
is delivering a fatal blow not only to life but to democracy and the
market. But rather than simply presenting a doomsday scenario,
Korten shows that it isn't too late for change. Drawing on the new
biology and a growing understanding of living systems, the book
argues that the most promising alternative is a world of healthy
market economies that function as extensions of healthy local
ecosystems to meet the needs of people and communities. .
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Right
Relationship
Building a Whole Earth Economy
By
Peter G. Brown (Author) Geoffrey Garver
In Right Relationship, Peter G. Brown and Geoffrey Garver use the
core Quaker principle of "right relationship"--respecting the
integrity, resilience, and beauty of human and natural
communities--as the foundation for a new economic model. Right
Relationship poses five basic questions: What is an economy for? How
does it work? How big is too big? What's fair? And how can it best
be governed? Brown and Garver expose the antiquated, shortsighted,
and downright dangerous assumptions that underlie our current
answers to these questions, as well as the shortcomings of many
reform efforts. They propose new answers that combine an acute
awareness of ecological limits with a fundamental focus on fairness
and a concern with the spiritual, as well as material, well-being of
the human race. And they outline what each of us can do to enable
life's commonwealth. |

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Rise of
the Creative Class, The
...and how
it's transforming work, leisure, community, & everyday life
By
Richard Florida
Millions of Americans are beginning to work and live the way
creative people like artists and scientists always have---and as a
result our values and tastes, our personal relationships, our
choices of where to live, and even our sense and use of time, are
changing. Leading the shift are the nearly 38 million Americans in
many diverse fields who create for a living---the Creative Class.
The first person to name this revolution was renowned urban studies
theorist Richard Florida.
In The Rise of the Creative Class, Florida chronicles the ongoing
sea change in people's choices and attitudes and describes a society
in which the creative ethos is increasingly dominant. With updated
city rankings and a new preface, this national bestseller that swept
the country and showed how the very future of our cities depends on
a new economic class. |

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Shock
Doctrine, The
The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by
Naomi Klein (Author)
In
this groundbreaking alternative history of the most dominant
ideology of our time, Milton Friedman's free-market economic
revolution, Naomi Klein challenges the popular myth of this
movement's peaceful global victory. From Chile in 1973 to Iraq
today, Klein shows how Friedman and his followers have repeatedly
harnessed terrible shocks and violence to implement their radical
policies. As John Gray wrote in The
Guardian, "There are very few books that really help us
understand the present. The
Shock Doctrine is one of those books."
From
The
New York Times Book Review
"Some readers may see Klein’s findings as evidence of a giant
conspiracy, a conclusion she explicitly disavows. It’s not the
conspiracies that wreck the world but the series of wrong turns,
failed policies, and little and big unfairnesses that add up. Still,
those decisions are guided by larger mind-sets. Market
fundamentalists never really appreciated the institutions required
to make an economy function well, let alone the broader social
fabric that civilizations require to prosper and flourish. Klein
ends on a hopeful note, describing nongovernmental organizations and
activists around the world who are trying to make a difference.
After 500 pages of “The Shock Doctrine,” it’s clear they have their
work cut out for them."
-Joseph E. Stiglitz
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Supply
Shock:
Economic
Growth At The Crossroads And The Steady State Solution
By
Brian Czech
Politicians, economists, and Wall Street would have us believe
that limitless economic expansion is the Holy Grail, and that there
is no conflict between growing the economy and protecting the
environment. Supply Shock debunks these widely accepted myths
and demonstrates that we are in fact navigating the end of the era
of
economic growth, and that the only sustainable
alternative is the development of a steady state economy.
Starting with a refreshingly accessible, comprehensive critique
of economic growth, the author engages readers in an enormous topic
that affects everyone in every country. Publishers Weekly
favorably compared Brian Czech to Carl Sagan for popularizing their
difficult subjects; Supply Shock shows why.
Czech presents a compelling alternative to growth based on keen
scientific, economic, and political insights including:
- The "trophic theory of money"
- The overlooked source of technological progress that
prevents us from reconciling growth and environmental protection
- Bold yet practical policies for establishing a steady state
economy
Supply Shock leaves no doubt that the biggest idea of the
twentieth century—economic growth—has become the biggest problem of
the twenty-first. Required reading for anyone concerned about the
world our children and grandchildren will inherit, this landmark
work lays a solid foundation for a new economic model, perhaps in
time for preventing global catastrophes; certainly in time for
lessening the damages.
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Transforming Economic
Life:
A Millennial
Challenge
By James Robertson
How can we reshape our economic system -
which now transfers wealth from poor to
rich, marginalises individuals, communities
and cultures, damages the natural
environment, and denies all sense of the
sacred - so that it will meet the needs of
people and the Earth in the 21st century? In
this Briefing, James Robertson outlines
measures for building a healthier and more
equal world. He identifies key ways in which
people can work together to transform the
economics of food and farming, work and
livelihoods, local development, travel and
transport, energy, technology and
international trade.
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True to
Our Roots
Fermenting a
Business Revolution
by
Paul Dolan
True to Our Roots sets forth the simple but powerful
management principles that enabled Fetzer Vineyards under Paul Dolan
to become one of America’s biggest and best-known wineries even as
it was turning into a model for sustainable businesses everywhere.
Today, Dolan and Fetzer are leading the California wine industry
toward profound change in how wineries and grape growers preserve
their environment, strengthen their communities, and enrich the
lives of their employees, without sacrificing the bottom line. This
is truly a management revolution in one of the most globalized,
competitive industries on Earth.
Filled with personal anecdotes and practical wisdom, this book
offers inspiration and guidance to business managers who see the
compelling need to build and grow healthy, sustainable
organizations. For all readers, True to Our Roots provides
both a fascinating glimpse into the California wine industry and
heartening proof that business can do well by doing good. |
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Walking the Talk
The Business Case for Sustainable Development
by
Chad Holliday,
Stephan Schmidheiny,
Philip
Watts
Book Description
Written by the CEOs of Shell, DuPont, and Anova, Walking the Talk:
The Business Case for Sustainable Development is the most important
book about corporate responsibility and yet it is written by
business for business. For the first time anywhere, leading
industrialists show than an integration of sustainable development
goals -- economic growth, social justice and ecological balance --
into corporate strategy will provide lasting shareholder value and
immediate bottom-line returns. Even more remarkably, the authors
insist that a global partnership -- between governments, business,
and civil society -- is essential, if moves towards globalization
are to maximize opportunities for all -- especially the world's
poor.
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Way out,
The:
Kick-starting
Capitalism to Save Our Economic Ass
By
L. Hunter Lovins
Believe
in climate change. Or don’t. It doesn’t matter
But you’d better understand this: the best
route to rebuilding our economy, our cities, and our job markets, as
well as assuring national security, is doing precisely what you
would do if you were scared to death about climate change. Whether
you’re the head of a household or the CEO of a multinational
corporation, embracing efficiency, innovation, renewables, carbon
markets, and new technologies is the smartest decision you can make.
It’s the most profitable, too. And, oh yes—you’ll help save the
planet.
In Climate Capitalism, L. Hunter Lovins,
coauthor of the bestselling Natural Capitalism, and the
sustainability expert Boyd Cohen prove that the future of capitalism
in a recession-riddled, carbon-constrained world will be built on
innovations that cutting-edge leaders are bringing to the market
today. These companies are creating jobs and driving innovation.
Climate Capitalism delivers hundreds of indepth case studies of
international corporations, small
businesses, NGOs, and municipalities
to prove that energy efficiency and
renewable resources are already
driving prosperity. While
highlighting business opportunities
across a range of sectors—including
energy, construction,
transportation, and agriculture
technologies—Lovins and Cohen also
show why the ex–CIA director Jim
Woolsey drives a solar-powered
plugin hybrid vehicle. His bumper
sticker says it all: “Osama bin Laden hates my car.
Corporate executives, entrepreneurs,
environmentalists, and concerned citizens alike will find profitable
ideas within these pages. In ten information-packed chapters,
Climate Capitalism gives tangible examples of early adopters across
the globe who see that the low-carbon economy leads to increased
profits and economic growth. It offers a clear and concise road map
to the new energy economy and a cooler planet.
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The Wealth of Nature
By
John
Michael Greer
The Wealth of Nature proposes a
new model of economics based on the integral value of ecology.
Building on the foundations of E.F. Schumacher's revolutionary
“economics as if people mattered”, this book examines the true
cost of confusing money with wealth. By analyzing the mistakes of
contemporary economics, it shows how an economy centered on natural
capital—the raw materials that support human life—can move our
society toward a more productive relationship with the planet that
sustains us all.
The Wealth of Nature suggests public policy initiatives
and personal choices that can help alleviate the economic impact of
peak oil. These strategies must address not only financial concerns,
but the issues of resource depletion and pollution as well. Examples
include:
- Adjusting tax policy to penalize the use of natural
nonrenewable resources over recycled materials
- Placing public welfare above corporate interests
- Empowering individuals, families, and communities by
prioritizing local, sustainable solutions
- Building economies at an appropriate scale.
Profoundly insightful and impeccably argued, this book is
required reading for anyone interested in the intersection of the
environment and the economy as we enter the twilight of the Age of
Abundance
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What
We See
By
Jane
Jacobs
A
timely revisitation of renowned urbanist-activist Jane Jacobs'
lifework, What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane
Jacobs invites thirty pundits and practitioners across fields to
refresh Jacobs' economic, social and urban planning theories for the
present day. Combining personal and professional observations with
meditations on Jacobs' insights, essayists bring their diverse
experience to bear to sketch the blueprints for the living city.
The book models itself after Jacobs' collaborative approach to city
and community building, asking community members and niche
specialists to share their knowledge with a broader community, to
work together toward a common goal of building the 21st century
city.
The resulting collection of original essays expounds and expands
Jacobs' ideas on the qualities of a vibrant, robust urban area. It
offers the generalist, the activist, and the urban planner practical
examples of the benefits of planning that encourages community
participation, pedestrianism, diversity, environmental
responsibility and self-sufficiency.
Bob Sirman, director of the Canada Council for the Arts, describes
how built form should be an embodiment of a community narrative.
Daniel Kemmis, former Mayor of Missoula, shares an imagined dialog
with Jacobs,' discussing the delicate interconnection between cities
and their surrounding rural areas. And Roberta Brandes Gratz—urban
critic, author, and former head of Public Policy of the New York
State Preservation League—asserts the importance of architectural
preservation to environmentally sound urban planning practices.
What We See asks us all to join the conversation about next steps
for shaping socially just, environmentally friendly, and
economically prosperous urban communities.
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When Corporations Rule the World
By David Korten
From Publishers Weekly
This well-documented, apocalyptic tome describes the global spread
of corporate power as a malignant cancer exercising a market tyranny
that is gradually destroying lives, democratic institutions and the
ecosystem for the benefit of greedy companies and investors. Korten
(Getting to the 21st Century) points out his conservative roots and
business credentials?and then proceeds to finger such classic
conspiracy-theory scapegoats as the Trilateral Commission and
Council on Foreign Relations as the planning agents of the new world
economic order he decries. Korten, founder of the People-Centered
Development Forum, prescribes a reordering of developmental
priorities to restore local control and benefits. Suggested reforms
include shifting tax policies to punish greed and reward social
responsibility, placing a 100% reserve requirement on demand
deposits at banks and closing the World Bank, which he claims
encourages indebtedness in nations that can't afford it.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This
text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. |
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Vital
Signs 2000
The
Environmental Trends That Are Shaping our Future
by
Lester R. Brown, Michael Renner, and Brian Halwell
The global trends documented in Vital
Signs 2000--from the rapid rise in the sales of energy-efficient
compact fluorescent lamps to the worldwide overpumping of
growndwater--will play a large role in determining the quality of
our lives and our children's lives in the next decade.
This ninth volume in the series from the Worldwatch Institute shows
in graphic form the key trends that often escape the attention of
the news media and world leaders--and that are often ignored by
economic experts as they plan for the future. Written by the staff
of the award-winning Worldwatch Institute, this book gives readers
easy access to key indicators that show social, economic, and
environmental progress, or the lack of it. The carefully selected
data have been distilled into "vital signs" from thousands of
documents obtained from government, industry, scientists, and
international organizations. |
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Vital
Signs 2002
The
Trends That Are Shaping our Future
by
Janet N. Abramovitz (Editor),
Worldwatch Institute (Editor, Corporate Author),
United Nations Environment
Programme (Corporate Author)
This annual volume, written by the staff of the award-winning
Worldwatch Institute, gives prominence to key trends that too often
escape the attention of the news media, world leaders and economic
experts. By distilling forty-five "vital signs" of our times from
thousands of government, industrial, and scientific documents, this
book allows readers to track key indicators that show social,
economic and environmental progress, or the lack of it. This 2002
edition presents information on environmental and sustainable
development topics such as global warming, population growth,
transgenic crops, HIV/AIDS, international trade, and Internet use.
Each trend is presented in both text and graphics, providing a
thorough, well-documented and very accessible overview.
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