[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 158 (Thursday, November 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 HONORING THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2001

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 
important energy and environmental research and achievements of the 
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), located in Snowmass, Colorado.
  Over the last two decades, RMI has compiled an outstanding record of 
achievement--and it is poised to make even greater contributions now, 
as we address the interrelated problems and opportunities of energy 
policy, environmental protection and national security.
  Resource analysts Hunter and Amory Lovins, who still lead it, 
established the RMI in 1982. It began as a small group of colleagues 
focusing on energy policy, and has grown into a broadbased institution 
with more than 45 full-time staff, an annual budget of nearly $7 
million, and a global reach.
  RMI focuses on a wide range of pressing and important issues--such as 
energy efficiency, resource productivity, market-oriented solutions to 
resource problems, and unlocking the positive power of corporate 
structures. But its principal focus is on what it calls a ``whole-
systems approach.'' Instead of viewing resource problems as merely 
symptoms (reduced supplies) or as discrete, isolated components (oil, 
gas, water, etc.), RMI looks at the root causes of scarcity (wasteful, 
counterproductive activities) and devises cost-effective, profit-
generating responses that result in greater efficiencies, fewer 
environmental impacts, and greater economic and national security.
  In short, RMI and its team of researchers ask more probing questions 
that in turn lead to the creation of exciting new techniques for more 
profitable and sustainable living, while also increasing awareness and 
understanding of the impacts of bad habits and practices.
  The creation of RMI came in response to a well-remembered energy 
crisis--the oil embargo of 1973--a time of challenges in some ways 
similar to those we face today. At that time of high gas prices, long 
lines at the gas station and a war in the Middle East, most of the 
country was focused on how we could become more energy independent by 
increasing our traditional energy supplies.
  Amory Lovins was also thinking about this problem, but he came at it 
from a different perspective. Instead of trying to find solutions to 
feed our existing consumption, he was asking more bedrock questions, 
such as--What are the activities for which we need energy? Can we Find 
other energy sources to supply these needs? What are the cheapest ways 
to supply that energy? From this thinking arose a whole new era of 
looking at energy issues from the end-use/least-cost approach--the core 
focus of RMI. Since then, Amory and his team of researchers, which 
includes his wife Hunter Lovins, have examined the whole range of 
energy consumption, supply and delivery systems and considered ways to 
achieve the same social goals at lower costs and lower environmental 
impact.
  They have been the leaders in promoting the more effective use of 
buildings (over 30 percent of America's total energy usage is tied to 
buildings; as RMI notes, weatherizing homes, using energy-efficient 
appliances and harnessing the natural heating and cooling effects of 
the sun and earth can lead to dramatic reductions while also resulting 
in increased productivity and enhanced living environments). They have 
been leaders in the promotion of high-efficiency light-bulbs (about 20 
percent of our electricity generation goes for lighting; as RMl notes, 
if the country fully utilized the now commercially available efficient 
light bulbs, we could displace 120 Chernobyl-sized power plants).
  And, they have been leaders in the development of new transportation 
technologies to reduce oil consumption (transportation needs comprise 
nearly two-thirds of our oil consumption, and RMI notes that if we 
increased the average fuel efficiency of vehicles by just 10 miles per 
gallon from today's current 19 mpg, we could displace all of the oil we 
import from the Persian Gulf).
  Also in the transportation arena, RMI researchers introduced the 
Hypercar concept in 1992. This car was built using the same bedrock, 
whole-systems thinking used in all of RMI's work--they imagined what a 
car could be if designed from scratch. Not losing sight of consumer 
needs and the demands placed on cars, they produced a car composed of 
sturdy and light components that is aerodynamic and uses a combination 
of gas and electricity. This past spring, RMI unveiled the 
``Revolution''--an actual working prototype employing Hypercar 
concepts.
  The Hypercar, like all of RMI's other work, is not based on science-
fiction, or environmentally utopian precepts. RMI's work is based on 
real world, practical techniques that are available today. In fact, as 
can be attested to by the many companies that RMI consults for, the 
whole-system approach can result in tangible benefits that increase 
productivity and, ultimately, profits.
  But perhaps RMI's most important contribution that has particular 
importance for today's world has been to highlight the connection 
between energy use and national security.
  In their probing, and, unfortunately, prescient 1982 book ``Brittle 
Power: Energy Strategy for National Security,'' Amory and Hunter Lovins 
made a convincing case that our reliance on centralized, concentrated 
distributed power systems is inherently insecure. Potential terrorists 
can take advantage of this system by targeting power grids, pipelines 
and production facilities to cause major power and energy disruptions. 
The authors then argued that a more secure energy system is one that is 
dispersed, diverse and involves more locally produced energy--in 
addition to the simple technique of reducing consumption altogether. 
Given the events of September 11th, we would be well advised to 
reengage in these issues and begin to seriously consider the 
recommendations outlined in this book.
  As the work of RMI continually points out, enhancing our national 
security, does not only involve a reexamination of our energy 
infrastructure, consumption and resource supplies. It also involves 
creating strong and healthy communities.
  As Amory and Hunter Lovins note, ``Security also derives from a 
society in which people are healthy and have a healthful environment, a 
sustainable economy, a legitimate system of government, and abundant 
cultural and spiritual assets.'' This again involves looking at the 
problem from a whole-system approach. An example the authors use to 
underscore this point is the costs of maintaining our military forces 
to keep oil flowing from the Middle East oil fields. They note that if 
we simply weatherize our homes, businesses and office complexes and 
increase gas mileage of our cars, we could eliminate U.S. oil imports 
from all sources. Again, it is this kind of thinking that we need now 
to address our security needs.
  These are but a few examples of the critically important work of the 
RMI--and RMI not only produces abstract analyses, but it also puts its 
ideas into practice. A prime example is the RMI office building in 
Snowmass, Colorado. The 4,000-square-foot building is passive-solar, 
super-insulated, and earth-sheltered. It has no heating system in the 
traditional sense, but is kept comfortable even at 20 degrees below 
zero by passive solar gain through super-insulated windows. Savings of 
99 percent in space-and water-heating energy and 90 percent in 
household electricity repaid the costs in building this facility in 10 
months. RMI can even grow bananas in its greenhouse--in the high 
mountains of Colorado. More importantly, the RMI building demonstrates 
to homeowners that this level of efficiency is possible and cost 
effective.
  This work--and much more--now has spanned the past twenty years. It 
has been highly praised and recognized with a number of awards, 
including the Right Livelihood Award (the ``alternative Nobel Prize'') 
in 1984, the Onassis Foundation's fist Delphi Prize (one of the world's 
top two environmental awards) in 1989 for its energy work, and Amory 
and Hunter Lovins were named ``Heroes of the Planet'' by Time magazine 
in 2000.
  As we seek solutions for the vast array of energy and national 
security issues we are now confronting, we would do well to draw upon 
the ideas and approaches being explored, tested and implemented by the 
people at RMI. I look forward with anticipation to RMI's next twenty 
years and the exciting contributions and innovative ideas they will no 
doubt produce.

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