Lovins to speak about clean energy at Baker Institute April 17

HOUSTON – (April 10, 2012) – Physicist and author Amory Lovins will discuss his new book, “Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era,” at 4 p.m. April 17 at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Baker Institute’s Energy Forum, will give welcoming remarks.

Who: Amory Lovins, author of “Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy
Era.”

What: A speech on the global clean-energy race.

When: 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17.

Where: Rice University’s Baker Institute, Baker Hall, 6100 Main St.

The first paragraph of the preface to Lovins book says, “Imagine fuel without fear. No climate change. No oil spills, dead coal miners, dirty air, devastated lands, lost wildlife. No energy poverty. No oil-fed wars, tyrannies or terrorists. Nothing to run out. Nothing to cut off. Nothing to worry about. Just energy abundance, benign and affordable, for all, forever.”

Lovins, who is the co-founder, chairman and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, will discuss how a global clean-energy race is emerging with astounding speed, and the ability to operate without fossil fuels will define winners and losers in business and among nations. In his book, Lovins offers a new vision to revitalize business models, maneuver around Washington gridlock and win the clean-energy race. Lovins makes the case that the long-awaited energy tipping point — where alternative energies perform better than oil and coal and compete purely on cost — is no longer decades in the future.

In 2009, Time magazine named Lovins one of the world’s 100 most influential people, and Foreign Policy listed him in its “Top 100 Global Thinkers” list.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is available at here, where Lovins’ presentation will also be webcast.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to David Ruth at david@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.

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Founded in 1993, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston ranks among the top 20 university-affiliated think tanks globally and top 30 think tanks in the United States. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute sponsors more than 20 programs that conduct research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows and Rice University scholars. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.