Amory Lovins
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A Legacy of Hope
Ever since the publication of his seminal essay Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken? in 1976, Amory Lovins has shaped the public discourse around energy. In that groundbreaking work, Amory defined a new way forward: the "soft path"—a future fueled by efficiency and renewables. He predicted a world where we could live prosperously and comfortably without using fossil fuels or nuclear energy.
Truly a visionary in our time, Amory helped redefine energy efficiency as a state of abundance rather than sacrifice. He posed a simple question: What if we needed less energy to provide the services we want? Focusing on energy demand, rather than supply, turned the conventional thinking upside down. Amory focuses on what we use energy for.
To transform ideas into action, Amory cofounded Rocky Mountain Institute (now RMI) in 1982. Together with his then-wife Hunter Lovins and other like-minded colleagues, Amory envisioned RMI as a “think-and-do” tank, an organization to lead the way toward a new energy future.
Amory’s commitment to “beginner’s mind,” a state of openness to new ideas, helps him find simple, elegant solutions to seemingly complex problems. He champions integrative design (whole systems thinking) as the key to unleashing the power of energy efficiency. Integrative design requires engineers and clients to start where Amory begins—at the end use—and rethink their assumptions about how to get there.
Amory remains steadfast in seeing opportunity where others see deficiency. Applied hope—taking action in a state of hope, not fear—is his guiding principle.
Amory’s words are as relevant today as they were revolutionary in 1976. Amidst the growing threats posed by climate change, Amory reassures us that the soft path is still open: we need only choose it with conviction.
Applied Hope
Amory Lovins coined the term “applied hope” to capture a powerful approach for tackling problems that might otherwise invoke despair.
Amory Lovins coined the term “applied hope” to capture a powerful approach for tackling problems that might otherwise invoke despair. Applied hope combines a commitment to finding solutions with rigor in deploying them.
Applied hope is based on the belief that change is possible: We need only harness positive resolve rather than fear and translate ideas into action. It’s both a mindset and a strategy. As Amory puts it, “Applied hope is a deliberate choice of heart and head.”
Amory Lovins on Applied Hope (19 minutes)
In this commencement address on applied hope, delivered to Olin College of Engineering's Class of 2019, Amory Lovins uses poignant parables and a vivid vision of a positive future to inspire the next generation of thinkers and doers. We encourage you to watch this powerful call to action.
You can also read or download the transcript.
Olin College of Engineering. May 19, 2019. Video edited with permission.
Amory at Home
Amory Lovins’ home in Snowmass, Colorado reflects his conviction that achieving energy efficiency doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort. Originally built in 1982 as RMI’s first headquarters, the building is a lesson in integrative design. RMI’s Visitor’s Guide, a comprehensive written tour, describes the building’s energy-efficient features following a 2007 retrofit. Amory regularly refines the design, making his home an ever-evolving showcase of innovative efficiency practices.
Banana Farm Tour (55 minutes)
The Lovins home is affectionately called the Banana Farm, in homage to the bananas that flourish in its indoor greenhouse (even during Colorado’s frigid winters) thanks to passive solar design and superefficient features. Follow along as Amory leads a virtual tour of the banana farm in this video from the Buildings module.
The banana farm is known for its population of plush orangutans; they’re a tribute to Amory's affinity for the critically endangered primates. Over decades of personal study and interactions with rescued great apes, Amory has developed a deep respect for our evolutionary cousins. He co-led the design of a home for great apes, engaging them as clients in what became an inter-species integrative design project. Amory is a steadfast advocate for sustainable rainforest restoration: habitat loss is the single greatest threat to orangutans.
Adventures in Ape Language and Jungle Restoration (51 minutes)
In this special lecture, accompany Amory on a fascinating journey through the world of great apes: their sophisticated language abilities, immense intelligence, and fascinating interactions with humans.
Lectures and Speeches
Spotlight: Bigger Pipes, Smaller Pumps (14 minutes)
An integrative design classic! Amory explains what happens when you apply whole-systems thinking to industrial pumps and pipes.
Stanford University Lectures
- Disruptive Energy Futures. Explore Energy Seminar. March 12, 2024. (73 minutes)
Amory reports on the global electricity revolution that is taking us to a cheaper, resilient, carbon neutral future much faster than expected. - Integrative Design for Radical Energy Efficiency with Holmes Hummel. Stanford Energy Seminar. November 11, 2020. (55 minutes)
Primer on extreme energy efficiency powered by integrative design, with a virtual Q&A session moderated by Dr. Holmes Hummel, Stanford professor and clean energy expert. - Advanced Energy Efficiency: Concepts and Practice (2007)
Series of five lectures given by Amory Lovins as the visiting MAP/MING Professor of Energy and Environment at Stanford University. Foundation for Extreme Energy Efficiency, the course taught by Amory Lovins at Stanford University (2020-present).- Lecture 1: Buildings. March 26, 2007. (97 minutes)
- Lecture 2: Industry. March 27, 2007. (95 minutes)
- Lecture 3: Transportation. March 28, 2007. (97 minutes)
- Lecture 4: Implementation. March 29, 2007. (95 minutes)
- Lecture 5: Implications. March 30, 2007. (100 minutes)
RMI
- Best of Amory Lovins
RMI’s YouTube playlist of more than 30 videos of Amory Lovins’ lectures, presentations, interviews, and messages.
Other Universities and Organizations
Dartmouth College
- Radical Energy Efficiency, Integrative Design, and Applied Hope. Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society, Dartmouth College. October 28, 2023. (85 minutes)Amory promotes integrative design for energy efficiency as a powerful tool for solving the climate crisis, using a range of examples across sectors.
On Climate Crisis Masterclass Series
- Amory Lovins on Integrative Design for Radical Energy Efficiency and Profitable Climate Solutions. Norman Foster Foundation. March 27, 2022. (42 minutes)
Amory explains how integrative design can create radically more efficient buildings, vehicles, factories, and equipment while still generating profits for businesses.
21st Century Energy Transition Symposium 2019
- Keynote: Integrative Design for Radical Energy Efficiency. Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory. 2019. (34 minutes)
Amory describes successes using integrative design to achieve radical energy efficiency. Draws on case studies from the buildings, industry, and transportation sectors.
Ted Talks
- Amory Lovins: A 40-Year Plan for Energy. March 2012. (27 minutes)
Amory maps an alternate path for the energy sector, one that eliminates the climate impacts of fossil fuels and the security issues posed by oil and nuclear power while supporting economic growth. - Reinvention of Fire: Amory Lovins at TEDxMidwest. October 14, 2011. (20 minutes)
Amory lays out the core arguments in Reinventing Fire, the book he co-authored with RMI proposing an economically sound pathway to a decarbonized future. - Amory Lovins: We Must Win the Oil Endgame. February 2005. (20 minutes)
Amory questions our reliance on oil and shows how we can break free, introducing key arguments from his co-authored book Winning the Oil Game.
Documentaries
RetroFUTUREspective. RMI. 2007. (14 minutes)
Filmed for the 25th anniversary of RMI’s founding, a look back at Amory Lovins’ early career and the organization’s first 25 years.
Lovins on the Soft Path: An Energy Future with a Future. 1982. (37 minutes)
Amory and Hunter Lovins captured their revolutionary ideas about energy, along with RMI’s early days, in this award-winning 1982 documentary. More than 40 years later, the messages still resonate.
Podcasts
- The Global Energy Transition. London Futurists. Podcast. December 16, 2024. (35 minutes)
Amory offers applied hope in our struggle against climate change. - Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute: The Energy Guru. Ecogradia. Podcast. Season 3, Episode 1. August 1, 2023. (61 minutes)
Amory explains how today’s renewables can help halt global warming with emissions-free, lower-cost energy. - The Einstein of Energy Efficiency: Amory Lovins. Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change. Podcast. Episode 68. December 15, 2021. (64 minutes)
Wide-ranging interview and discussion with host Michael Liebreich.
Articles and Essays
Amory Lovins has authored or co-authored more than 900 articles and essays. The selected works below convey some of Amory’s most profound and influential ideas.
- Artificial Intelligence Meets Natural Stupidity: Managing the Risks. Lovins, Amory B. May 10, 2025. (23 pages)
Provocative, technically rich essay exploring the vast uncertainties around AI and electricity needs. Lays out recommendations for prudently managing risks, especially to utilities and their non-AI customers. - How big is the energy efficiency resource? Lovins, Amory B. Environmental Research Letters. Volume 13, Number 9. September 18, 2018. (17 pages)
Amory's foundational paper on integrative design. Explains why energy efficiency is an expanding-quantity, declining-cost resource with enormous potential. - A Road Map for Natural Capitalism. Lovins, Amory B., L. Hunter Lovins, and Paul Hawken. Harvard Business Review. Reprint. July - August, 2007. Originally published 1999.
Article by Amory and co-authors delivering a critical warning from their influential book, Natural Capitalism. Encourages a complete rethinking of how we think about business, the environment, and economic value. - Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?. Lovins, Amory B. Not Man Apart. Special Reprint Issue. Volume 6, Number 20. November, 1977. Original publication: Foreign Affairs. Volume 55, Number 1. 1976. (9 pages)
Groundbreaking 1976 article that defines the two energy choices facing the U.S. as the hard path (fossil fuels and nuclear) and the soft path (efficiency and renewables). Outlines social, economic, geopolitical, and security advantages of the soft path. - Inside Amory’s Brain (RMI)
RMI's rich repository of Amory Lovins’ work, including articles, essays, speeches, and interviews.
Books
Amory Lovins has authored or coauthored 32 books. Influential works include:
- Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era. Lovins, Amory and RMI. 2011. (334 pages) Find at a library near you.
Presents a roadmap to revitalize outmoded business models, end political gridlock, and win the clean-energy race, not forced by policy but led by business for profit. - The Essential Amory Lovins: Selected Writings. Lovins, Amory. Edited by Burns, Cameron. 2011. (382 pages) Find at a library near you.
Wide-ranging collection of Amory’s written works on diverse subjects, covering his career up to 2011. Shows the continuing relevance of Amory's ideas to new and ongoing sustainability problems. - Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profits, Jobs, and Security. Lovins, Amory et al. 2004. (305 pages) Find at a library near you.
Lays out a roadmap for how the U.S. could completely phase out oil use while strengthening profits, jobs, and national security. - Small is Profitable. Lovins, Amory B. and Rocky Mountain Institute (now RMI). 2002. (398 pages) Find at a library near you.
Makes the case that our current electricity system--consisting of large power stations feeding a nationwide grid--will soon be replaced by decentralized, distributed electrical resources, which can be up to 10 times as economically valuable. - Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. Hawken, Paul, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. 1999. (396 pages) Find at a library near you.
How to do business as if nature and people were properly valued, but without needing to know or signal their value. - Brittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security. Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins. 1982. (486 pages) Find at a library near you.
Explores vulnerability in the U.S. energy system, with a focus on threats to national security. Sponsored by U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Honors
Prizes
- Zayed Future Energy Prize Runner-Up (2011)
- Asahi Glass Foundation Blue Planet Prize (2007)
- Volvo Environment Prize (2007)
- Shingo Prize Research Award (With Paul Hawken and L. Hunter Lovins, 2001)
- Onassis Prize (1989)
Fellowships
- Ashoka Fellow (2009)
- MacArthur Foundation Fellow (1993)
Awards
- Order of Merit, Federal Republic of Germany (2016)
- National Design Award, Design Mind (2009)
- Lindbergh Award (With Hunter Lovins, 1999)
- Heinz Award for Environment (1998)
- Right Livelihood Award (With Hunter Lovins, 1983)