NATURAL CAPITALISM

The text examines the crisis of freshwater depletion and proposes 'natural capitalism' through water efficiency. It details technological and behavioral shifts in agriculture (drip irrigation), landscaping (xeriscaping), and building systems (waterless toilets, graywater recovery), while advocating for decentralized biological wastewater treatment like 'Living Machines'.

• Traditional water supply strategies, such as building large dams, are insufficient to meet population growth and are environmentally damaging, having contributed to the loss of over 60 percent of inland wetlands in the United States.
• Agriculture is the primary driver of water withdrawals in the U.S., accounting for 81 percent of all consumptive use in 1995, with significant groundwater depletion in the High Plains' Ogallala Aquifer.
• Xeriscaping and the use of native flora can reduce outdoor water use by up to 50 percent and eliminate the need for irrigation in some urban yards without sacrificing aesthetic value.
• Indoor water use can be significantly reduced through high-performance fixtures and alternative sanitation; for example, separating toilets from Sweden can eliminate water use for urine disposal and provide fertilizer.
• Decentralized biological wastewater treatment systems, such as 'Living Machines', offer a more ecological and cost-effective alternative to centralized sewage plants by using organisms to treat waste as food.
• Industrial water intensity has fallen sharply; for instance, nonagricultural businesses in the U.S. withdrew 38 percent less water in 1995 than in 1970 while increasing real output by 69 percent.
• Integrating rainwater harvesting and graywater recovery at the urban scale could significantly reduce municipal water imports; in Los Angeles, such measures could cut imports by 50–60 percent.

APA

RMI (n.d.). NATURAL CAPITALISM. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter11.pdf

Chicago

RMI. NATURAL CAPITALISM. n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=NATURAL CAPITALISM |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindnatural, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{NATURAL CAPITALISM}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }