Currents Spotlight on Rocky Mountain Institute

In this interview in Currents, the Navy's energy and environmental magazine, Amory Lovins shares his ideas for an enduring and resilient Department of Defense.

 

A Farewell to Fossil Fuels: Answering the Energy Challenge

In this article published in Foreign Affairs, Amory Lovins describes a U.S. transition from fossil fuels--a blueprint detailed in Reinventing Fire-- that requires pursuing transformational change in automotive efficiency, design of buildings and factories, and the electric system.

 

Proliferation, Oil, and Climate: Solving for Pattern

In this essay Amory Lovins discusses the problems of proliferation, oil, and climate. These three formidable problems, though treated as distinct, share common causes and solutions. New energy and climate solutions can strengthen security and prosperity by shifting strategy for the NPT Review Conference. Nuclear power’s astonishing eclipse by cheaper, faster, more climate-protective competitors—if acknowledged and exploited—can simultaneously bolster nonproliferation, energy security, global development, and climate protection, all at a profit. Foreign Policy published a condensed version of this paper, "On Proliferation, Climate, and Oil: Solving for Pattern" (RMI document ID S10-03) in January 2010.

 

DOD’s Energy Challenge as Strategic Opportunity

This unabridged version of an April 2010 article published in Joint Force Quarterly, the magazine of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, describes how two big ideas—endurance and resilience—can turn the DoD's energy costs and vulnerabilities into sources of breakthrough advantage, major savings in blood and treasure, and a safer world. The article as it appeared in Joint Force Quarterly (RMI document ID 2010-07) is available to download here.

 

RMI's Top Federal Energy Policy Goals

This 19-page memo to the Obama administration outlines 17 goals that can reduce U.S. oil use and greenhouse gas emissions each by 50% in 10 years. These policies would also create over three million jobs in the next four years, and earning a profit for the nation in under 25 years. The recommendations include both demand and supply side goals in multiple sectors (buildings, transportation, industrial, electricity and heat, and liquid fuels). The recommendations also contain five overarching goals: the Smart Grid is installed, enhancing energy security, enabling distributed resources, and integrating electrified vehicles; better electricity end-use data are available; a new corps of workers is trained to power the clean energy economy; all energy subsidies are consistently reviewed, transparently displayed, and thoroughly addressed; and government purchasing power spurs the clean energy economy.

 

Climate: Eight Convenient Truths

In this article from Roll Call, Amory Lovins provides eight arguments for congress to pass climate change legislation.

 

Nuclear Power: Climate Fix or Folly?

This semi-technical article, summarizing a detailed and documented technical paper (see "The Nuclear Illusion" (2008)), compares the cost, climate protection potential, reliability, financial risk, market success, deployment speed, and energy contribution of new nuclear power with those of its low- or no-carbon competitors.

 

Policy of Energy Change

In this interview, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Amory Lovins discuss energy policy. Topics discussed include walkable cities, how to drill for efficiency, and what governments can do to accelerate clean energy. The importance and opportunity of legislation on a local level are emphasized. Domestic drilling, funding sources for clean energy, putting a price on carbon and motivating change are other topics discussed. Amory concludes by describing the security issues related to our electric grid, and the necessary steps to build a more reliable and localized energy infrastructure.

 

Drilling in All the Wrong Places

In this article from RMI's Solutions Journal, Amory Lovins argues that the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is bad for the United States' national security. He argues that it is insecure and accessible to attackers.

 

Senate Testimony: How Innovative Technologies, Business Strategies, and Policies can Dramatically Enhance Energy Security and Prosperity

In this invited testimony to the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (SD-366, 0930-1130), Amory Lovins explained how innovation in business strategies, technologies, and policies can lead to energy independence, energy security, and prosperity. Lovins argued that the surest path to an energy policy that enhances security and prosperity is free-market economics: letting all ways to save or produce energy compete fairly, at honest prices, no matter which kind they are, what technology they use, where they are, how big they are, or who owns them. That would make the energy security, oil, climate, and most proliferation problems fade away, and would make our economy and democracy far stronger.

 

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