July is Book Month at Grassroots. The Ecology of Commerce is the "staff pick" by Alison at the Annex.

The Ecology of Commerce outlines the environmentally destructive aspects of many current business practices, but offers the vision of businesses adopting new practices to promote environmental restoration.

Hawken is on a one-man crusade to reform our economic system by demanding that First World businesses reduce their consumption of energy and resources by 80 percent in the next 50 years.

As if that weren't enough, Hawken argues that business goals should be redefined to embrace such fuzzy categories as whether the work is aesthetically pleasing and the employees are having fun; this applies to corporate giants and mom-and-pop operations alike. He proposes a culture of business in which the real world, the natural world, is allowed to flourish as well, and in which the planet's needs are addressed. Wall Street may not be ready for Hawken's provocative brand of environmental awareness, but this fine book is full of captivating ideas.

Hawken thoughtfully reviews ecological theories and disasters and insists that "ecology offers a way to examine all present economic and resource activities from a biological rather than a monetary point of view." Calling for a restorative economy, he proposes rational, achievable goals: stop "accelerating the rate that we draw down capacity"; refrain from "buying or degrading other people's environment"; and avoid displacing "other species by taking over their habitats." This noteworthy study should kindle debates within the business community.

Essential reading for all who care about our planet.

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Collins; Reprint edition (August 3, 1994)
• Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches