RMI Outlet
Plug Into New Ideas
Oil Companies’ Skepticism on EVs: A Costly Gamble?
So word is that two oil giants are among the skeptics about widespread adoption of electric vehicles. Oil executives might do well to ponder Kodak’s fate in an age when technological advances can wipe out even the most profitable, entrenched business within a generation.
My Response to WSJ’s “The Problem With Going Green”
David Owen continues to blame energy efficiency for the ills he ascribes to growth and wealth. His misunderstandings of “rebound” in energy use were devastatingly…
My Response to WSJ’s "The Problem With Going Green"
The economic growth Owen decries is boosted not just by energy efficiency but also, and far more, by many other things he doesn't choose to criticize, such as education, public health, capital markets, and technological innovation. He is right that consumption has impact, and that one way to reduce impact is to consume less or differently. But he is dead wrong that using energy more productively has the perverse effect of increasing its use, eliminating or reversing the benefits sought: this has never been observed, and a vast literature shows that actual "rebound" effects, when observable, are small and unimportant.
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats – So Let’s Keep Focus on the Solar Tide
A trade war is brewing in the solar photovoltaic industry, and we can hear the echoes of battle getting louder every moment. It’s essential that solar advocates get really clear on what they want for the U.S. solar industry and our energy system over the long term, and whether penalizing trade with China moves us closer to or further away from that vision.
Looking to the Future for Energy Efficiency
Given the rapid pace of innovation today, it's hard to grasp what the future will be like in five years, let alone 40. Technologies continue to become smaller and faster in ways few thought could be possible.