Q: How do you persuade corporate America and society at large to adopt your energy-saving ideas and research?
A: Simple. We speak their language. Many people assume that energy efficiency involves a painful and costly sacrifice, but we devise solutions that turn needless waste into profit. We call it “abundance by design.”
Businesspeople, like all people, fundamentally want to do the right thing. When we show them how to serve their shareholders and serve future generations profitably, they’re all over it.
Q: What’s the most sensational energy-saving research going on at RMI?
A: We are working with a major electrical utility to analyze how a million plug-in vehicles in “smart garages” could serve as electricity storage by charging up at night during off-peak hours and reducing peak demand for the entire system during the day. With a major real estate developer we’re designing workspaces that consume dramatically less energy but provide a much more pleasant human experience. These are only a couple of examples. We have many exciting projects active right now. Some of the jazziest ones are top secret.
Q: Your predecessor, Amory Lovins, is a near-mythic figure in environmental and energy circles. Will his formidable reputation make your job harder or easier?
A: Amory is the most brilliant thinker I have ever met, and the halls of RMI are crowded with super-brain scientists, architects and engineers. Luckily, my job is simple: to set a compelling strategy and make sure that our business model achieves our mission but also allows the super-brains to feed their families as they change the world. The strong reputation of Amory Lovins and RMI definitely makes my job easier.
Q: Can the U.S. reasonably expect to become energy independent in the next few decades? What will be the chief innovations or technologies that get us there?
A: RMI published a groundbreaking study, Winning the Oil End Game (www.oilendgame.com), that roadmaps how America can achieve energy independence within a generation, led by business for profit.
Most of this change will come from saving energy that is currently wasted in our poorly designed system. Amory coined a key concept – the “negawatt,” a unit of energy saved – that underlies this strategy. Can we achieve energy independence? We’ll see. The chief innovation needed is the marshaling of our collective will.
Q: Is the debate finished regarding the role of manmade carbon emissions on global warming?
A: I think so. The global-warming skeptics seem to be moving farther and farther out on the fringe, as decisive research keeps rolling in. But global warming is not the only big issue facing us. We simply cannot continue to consume energy at current levels, nor do we need to. Plus, we face huge challenges in our food and water supply. These issues seem scary, and most people would rather not think about them at all, but reasonable solutions exist if we face them squarely.
Q: How have you changed your own energy use and carbon footprint?
A: Three years ago, I lived in a big suburban house and never even thought about energy consumption or cost. Today I live in a high-rise. My monthly energy bill is a small fraction of what it was before. I recycle, buy compact fluorescent light bulbs and turn lights off when I leave the room. I’m in the process of buying a hybrid car. These changes cause me no sense of sacrifice; in fact, each little action feels like I’m making a good choice for myself and others.
Q: What sets RMI apart from other environmental or energy advocacy groups?
A: Most of our colleagues influence policy by litigating or by lobbying for legislation – very important work. In contrast, RMI works with decisionmakers to find concrete solutions to the thorny problems facing them.
Following a discipline called natural capitalism, we generate breakthrough designs to make all kinds of systems – from buildings to industrial processes to vehicles – produce better results with radically less consumption of natural resources.
Q: What are your passions outside the office?
A: I spend a lot of time outdoors. I play blues harmonica and study meditation. My children are mostly grown, but I love to spend time with them. And nowadays, I read a lot about energy and the environment so that I can interact with the super-brains at RMI.
Edited for space and clarity from an interview by staff writer Steve Raabe.
