ellie

An article about Amory Lovins

you must scroll down to his story, which I’ve posted below:

The New Yorker, issue of 2007-01-22
Profiles

”Mr. Green: Environmentalism’s Most Optimistic Guru”By Elizabeth Kolbert

In “Mr. Green,” Elizabeth Kolbert profiles Amory Lovins, a man who, she writes, “is routinely described, even by people who don’t particularly like or admire him, as a ‘genius.’ ” He’s the founder and C.E.O. of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a consulting firm in Snowmass, Colorado, whose goal is to promote “the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and life-sustaining.” Lovins’s father, an optical engineer, inspired in his son a love of tinkering. “While he was still in high school,” Kolbert writes, Lovins “built a nuclear magnetic-resonance spectrometer in his basement.” He studied a variety of subjects, including physics, at Harvard and Oxford, but chafed at straitjacketing graduation requirements and dropped out of both. He then went to work in London for the Friends of the Earth, where he wrote a book about a Welsh national park that proved instrumental in blocking a company’s plans to mine for copper there.

Lovins is a tireless deviser of both small- and large-scale ways of saving energy and increasing the efficiency of buildings, industrial processes, and even whole economies. He first came to national attention in 1976, when he was twenty-eight, Kolbert writes. “In an essay published in Foreign Affairs, he asserted that the United States could completely phase out its use of fossil fuels and do so not at a cost but at a profit.” He has remained unwavering in his conviction. Lovins, Kolbert writes, “maintains that the U.S. can eliminate its use of oil by 2050, even while reducing its coal and natural-gas consumption, enjoying unprecedented prosperity, and preserving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” Many of Lovins’s ideas, Kolbert writes, “sound radical and futuristic—ultra-light cars made of carbon fibres, vehicles that generate electricity when they’re not on the road, an economy powered by hydrogen.” But he has attracted major corporate clients like Wal-Mart and Texas Instruments, for whom his innovations achieve major savings. A Wal-Mart vice-president tells Kolbert, “In a room of ten people talking about why it can’t be done, Amory is the one working on the five ways to get there.”

This is straight from his web site: http://www.kevinwarwick.com:

”The cybernetic pioneer who is upgrading the human body – starting with himself Professor Kevin Warwick, the world’s leading expert in Cybernetics, here he unveils the story of how he became the worlds first Cyborg in a ground breaking set of scientific experiments.”

Professor Warwick has been featured in Wired magazine.

Frank McCourt has written:

“Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir,” followed by ”’Tis: A Memoir” and “Teacher Man: A Memoir.”

He is an incredible writer, his first memoir conveys the horrors of living in poverty in Limerick, yet shares the joys and curiosities of a young boy.

Stephen Sondheim is one of the few lyricists/composers who has been able to effect me deeply with his words and music.

His work is considered original and innovative. His musical composition most complex, which could be because he doesn’t know how to read music. The music is within him, and he works with someone to put into musically literate form.

I cannot think of a musical he has had a great influence in the creation, which hasn’t moved me.

Some have said they don’t like his music at first listening, but learn to enjoy it after several listenings. That seems true. Partially because his work was different from what came before it and because of the complexity.

I admire him; and would love to meet him someday.

Sondheim is probably most like George Seurat in his musical, “Sunday in the Park with George.” “His philosophy of life is probably, “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Saturday Night,” “The Frogs.” Many a critic said Sondheim had no feelings, was all intellect. He bares his soul with “Passion.”

I may continue this entry. Must go.

What an amazing woman. Encouraging and smart. Sweet and funny. She has all the qualities of a great friend!

There are not too many Ellie’s around, I know two, they are both amazing women… my mom and this lady.

It was the summer of 1981, before my senior year in high school.

I was working for Neiman Marcus’s epicurian department (gourmet food), and Bill Cosby would come into our dept. regularly. This was in Las Vegas.

He had purchased a very expensive espresso machine (before coffeehouses came back into vogue), and it broke.

We sent it back to the manufacturer to be fixed. Months went by, and still wasn’t fixed. His first line upon entering our dept. was always something like, “How’s that espresso machine doing?”

The darned espresso machine was broken before I started working there, and it was still not fixed by the time summer was over and I headed back to school.

When Bill Cosby would come into Neimans, he was usually surrounded by five or so people, probably his family and entourage.

He usually wore an Adidas sweatsuit, which was popular back then, and he always had a partially smoked cigar hanging out of his mouth. It appeared to be unlight, yet he kept it in his mouth, taking it out every so often when speaking.

Cathibeth has a big heart and a persuasive manner.

Just her big smile and down-to-earth manner lets you know she’s grounded, sensible and kind.

Plus, she seems to have a ton of energy. I want to know how she harnesses all that energy … if she’d care to share.

In November 1991, I met Amory Lovins when he was in Traverse City, MI, consulting with the community living on Beaver Island.

That community wanted to get off the grid (electrical), and become self-sufficient by using self-sustaining, clean energy.

They have been off the grid for years now, utilizing wind power mainly.

Amory, is as he has been described: Talking to him is like trying to get a sip of water from a fire hose. He is extremely intense and passionate about conserving energy and alternative energies.

He originally coined this term to describe how the U.S. (or any government) uses electricity as its main source of energy.

He said: Using electricity as the main source of energy fuel is like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose. The vast majority of the energy used is wasted, for instance, to illuminate one light bulb.

While I was up at that conference, a small group of us had an hours’ long private session with him. He offered to crack my back, which I said yes to. I was nervous, never having had my back cracked, and having Amory do it.

My back hurt for at least a week after that.

If I had been relaxed, my back would have felt great.

Other than that little tidbit:

Amory Lovins is an intense inspiration of intellect, energy and altruism.

She’s a tiny woman, with a big voice. She’s a great interviewer who asks the right questions, and gets people to share what they might not necessarily want to share.