Electricity
Negawatts: Twelve Transitions, Eight Improvements, and One Distraction
This article from 1996 describes the transitions required for the more efficient use of electricity. In the article, Amory Lovins argues that twelve fundamental transitions are necessary to move to the more efficient use of electricity. The transitions are: from the theoretical to the real world; from supply extrapolation to…
Greening the Building and the Bottom Line
This paper, which was written jointly by RMI and the Department of Energy, describes the energy efficiency measures undertaken by eight organizations. In each of the cases presented, improved efficiency in lighting, heating, and cooling increased worker productivity, decreased absenteeism, and sometimes improved the quality of the work being performed.
What an Energy-Efficient Computer Can Do
This paper from 1993 describes the economic benefits of purchasing an energy efficient computer. Although the technical specifications from this paper are outdated, the concepts of energy efficient appliances remain the same. Amory Lovins argues that when you buy an energy efficient desktop computer, you’re getting more benefits than just…
Fueling a Competitive Economy
This article, which originally appeared in Foreign Affairs in 1992, presents a comprehensive plan to revive America’s competitiveness using energy efficiency to prime the economic pump, an industrial policy to guide fresh capital injections, and environmental technology to create a cottage industry for the 21st century.
Profitably Stabilizing Global Climate
This piece explains that the climate can be stabilized by using energy efficiency measures without costing money. The authors reiterate their central message that saving fuel costs less than burning fuel. Therefore, the carbon emissions avoided by substituting efficient use for fuel are now achievable not at a cost but…