26 Apr 2011

TEDxSMU Tuesday 4.29.11

Events, Ideas, News No Comments

Amory Lovins at TEDxSMU 2009 from tedxsmu on Vimeo.

Amory Lovins

Rocky Mountain Institute

Amory Lovins on winning the oil endgame, TED 2005

In this energizing talk, Amory Lovins lays out his simple plan for weaning the US off oil and revitalizing the economy.

Winning the Oil Endgame, by Amory Lovins

Enough about the oil problem. Here’s the solution. Over a few decades, starting now, a vibrant US economy (then others) can completely phase out oil. This will save a net $70 billion a year, revitalize key industries and rural America, create a million jobs, and enhance security. Here’s the roadmap – independent, peer-reviewed, co-sponsored by the Pentagon – for the transition beyond oil, led by business and profit.

Amory Lovins: Solving the Energy Crisis (and Bringing Wal-Mart), Popular Mechanics, October 1, 2007

“Amory Lovins showers with solar-heated water and dries his clothes using a ladder-shaped system he rigged from galvanized pipe and nylon rope inside a specially built light shaft. He raises and lowers the clothes using a boat winch. Tinkering with such contraptions is relaxing for a guy with the weight of a poorly designed world on his shoulders, and he’s all about reining in errant kilowatt-hours. But what Amory Lovins really finds satisfying is problem-solving on a bigger scale.”

With Nuclear Power, “No Acts of God Can Be Permitted,” Amory Lovins, The Huffington Post, March 18, 2011

“As heroic workers and soldiers strive to save stricken Japan from a new horror–radioactive fallout–some truths known for 40 years bear repeating. An earthquake-and-tsunami zone crowded with 127 million people is an un-wise place for 54 reactors. The 1960s design of five Fukushima-I reactors has the smallest safety margin and probably can’t contain 90% of melt-downs. The U.S. has 6 identical and 17 very similar plants.”

Energy Innovation and News

Boeing 787 Dreamliner completes its first flight, BBC News, December 15, 2009

“…Its popularity is partly thanks to its lightweight design. Made of carbon and titanium, it should reduce fuel consumption as well as save on maintenance costs.”

  • Boeing 787

Case Study: Walmart’s Efficiency Goals, Truckinginfo.com, June 29, 2010

“In 2005, Walmart set a goal of doubling the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet to 13 mpg by 2015, according to widely published reports. By 2008, Walmart got its mpg up to 7.1 from 5.9 in 2005.”

Here comes the everyday carbon fiber car, CNET News, September 11, 2006

“Five times stronger than steel and a heck of a lot lighter, carbon fiber is making its way into more cars than ever before. Carbon fiber has been used to make car bodies but in limited ways: McLaren annually makes a few hundred sports cars from it and hobbyists make shells to transform Volkswagens into something resembling a Hot Wheels toys.”

CEO Alan Mulally: Ford Still in Black but Also Green, Partners With Microsoft Hohm, Fast Company, March 31, 2010

“At his keynote address at New York’s International Auto Show today, Alan Mulally rallied the nation’s car manufacturers with a call to arms–and just a hint of boasting. If the industry doesn’t wake up to the need for greener vehicles, such as hybrids and EVs, he warned, America will be hit hard. ‘We are, literally, fighting for the soul of manufacturing in the United States right now.’”

A gym powered by sweat and tears, BBC News, January 2, 2009

A US gym has installed specially-adapted exercise bikes that recycle energy generated by people as they work out. The Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon, aims to be a carbon neutral exercise facility through the use of solar power and human-generated energy from clients as they pedal and run.

China Tops U.S. in Energy Use, Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2010

China has passed the U.S. to become the world’s biggest energy consumer, according to new data from the International Energy Agency, a milestone that reflects both China’s decades-long burst of economic growth and its rapidly expanding clout as an industrial giant.

Related Media

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America, by Thomas L. Friedman

“’Green is the new red, white, and blue,’ Friedman declares, and proposes that an ambitious national strategy–which he calls geo-greenism–is not only what we need to save the planet from overheating, it is what we need to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure in the coming E.C.E.–the Energy-Climate Era.”

Good Guide- Find healthy, green, ethical products according to scientific ratings.

  • iPhone
  • Android

Microsoft Hohm System

Related TED Talks

Lisa Margonelli: The political chemistry of oil, TEDxOilSpill

In the Gulf oil spill’s aftermath, Lisa Margonelli says drilling moratoriums and executive ousters make for good theater, but distract from the issue at its heart: our unrestrained oil consumption. She shares her bold plan to wean America off of oil — by confronting consumers with its real cost.

Debate: Does the world need nuclear energy? TED 2010

Nuclear power: the energy crisis has even die-hard environmentalists reconsidering it. In this first-ever TED debate, Stewart Brand and Mark Z. Jacobson square off over the pros and cons. A discussion that’ll make you think — and might even change your mind.

Bill Gates on energy: Innovating to zero! TED 2010

At TED2010, Bill Gates unveils his vision for the world’s energy future, describing the need for “miracles” to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he’s backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050.

Juan Enriquez wants to grow energy, TEDSalon 2007 Hot Science

Juan Enriquez challenges our definition of bioenergy. Oil, coal, gas and other hydrocarbons are not chemical but biological products, based on plant matter — and thus, growable. Our whole approach to fuel, he argues, needs to change.

Shai Agassi’s bold plan for electric cars, TED 2009

Forget about the hybrid auto — Shai Agassi says it’s electric cars or bust if we want to impact emissions. His company, Better Place, has a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020.

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