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Imagine a nation in need of no oil; Rocky Mountain Institute says it could happen by 2050
Unfortunately, Amory Lovins is at a loss, too.
The 62-year-old cofounder and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute is among the world's most innovative thinkers on energy. But methods for shutting down the undersea gusher and cleaning up the mess in the Gulf of Mexico are beyond even his expertise.
Instead, Lovins, who Time magazine calls one of the world's 100 most influential people, figures his highest and best use is to focus on the root cause of the horrendous disaster: Our dependency on oil.
"As [best-selling author] Tom Friedman points out: A crisis is a terrible thing to waste," Lovins says from his office in Snowmass, Colo. "The way not to spill oil is to not need it in the first place."
The experimental physicist believes profit motivation will find the solutions.
"We're running an advanced industrial economy on the remains of primeval swamp goo and dinosaur poop," Lovins says. "There are more modern ways to do this that actually work better and cost less. The transition will be very advantageous for the businesses that lead it."