Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy
In this companion to the television series of the same name, economist  Henderson delivers an optimistic overview of socially responsible,  environmentally sensitive businesses, investors and visionaries. Keeping an eye  on the "triple bottom line" that adds "people" and "planet" to the usual focus  on "profits," the book divides "cleaner, greener, more ethical and more female  sectors of our U.S. economy" into three areas: lifestyles of health and  sustainability, socially responsible investing and corporate social  responsibility. An economist with a long history of activism in "redefining  success" (for example, revamping the GDP to include environmental capital and  unpaid labor such as child-rearing), Henderson adeptly packs large amounts of  information into chapters within her expertise. Discussion of topics that are  further from her experience, such as green building and the health care system,  tends to careen from problems to solutions so quickly that a reader can become  confused. The interviews after each chapter, meant to show how CEOs are  "walking the talk," seem to be taken unedited from the TV show, coming across  as incoherent and shallow. Fortunately, the book is crammed with Web references  that can offer a fuller picture to readers tantalized by this glimpse of the  economic revolution thriving below the radar of mainstream media.(Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.