Amory Lovins: Freedom from Fossil Fuels Is a Possible Dream

The United States could run almost entirely on clean energy by 2050, with a larger economy, $5 trillion in savings––and no acts of Congress.  That's a vision of the future as seen by Amory Lovins, a sustainability expert who talked about how to reach that goal in a presentation Tuesday at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Electric vehicles, retrofits, the sharing economy and the rise of clean energy in Europe and China—all these technologies and trends show how a transition from oil, coal and nuclear power is possible, he said.

Lovins is chairman and chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit think tank and consulting firm that supports renewables and energy efficiency.  His talk was based on his 2011 book Reinventing Fire:  Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era, and a 2012 TED Talk (a global ideas conference) where he presented the book's findings.

"Long ago, fire made us human, and then fossil fuels made us modern," Lovins said.  "But now we need a new fire that makes us safe, secure, healthy and durable, and that turns out to be feasible, and in fact, to be cheaper than what we are doing."

Read more at Amory Lovins:  Freedom from Fossil Fuels Is a Possible Dream