A Roadmap to Sustainable Energy

Reinventing Fire by Amory Lovins

Visions of our future have often been dark and dystopian. But what if an alternative vision of abundant, clean, and affordable energy were within our grasp? One of the world’s leading energy experts has detailed how it can be done with the technologies and policy framework we have right now.

This visionary, pragmatic book makes the case that shifting to renewable energy technologies is smart business strategy.

We have it in our power to escape our addiction to fossil fuels, says energy scientist Amory Lovins. Co-founder and chairman of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an independent, nonprofit ” think and do” tank, Lovins maintains the U.S. could be entirely free of dependence on oil and coal by 2050, and save $5 trillion in the process. The key is harnessing business logic to spur deep innovation.

In the book, Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era, Lovins and his colleagues from the Rocky Mountain Institute make the case that shifting to efficient and renewable energy technologies is smart business strategy. Both visionary and pragmatic, the book reveals how we could transform our industries and energy infrastructure through innovative market-based energy solutions—and do it all without any new federal laws, taxes, subsidies, or mandates.

First published in 2011, Reinventing Fire quickly found an audience among top leaders in business and government. President Bill Clinton praised it as a “wise, detailed, and comprehensive blueprint” for putting the best existing energy technologies to work. Robert McFarlane, national security advisor to President Reagan and co-founder of the United States Energy Security Council, called the book “analytically sound” and “compelling.”

Our Role

We made a $200,000 grant to help underwrite the Reinventing Fire program.

Why This Grant

We believe wholeheartedly in RMI’s pragmatic approach to our energy choices. As much as any project we have ever supported, Reinventing Fire gives us reason for hope.