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This document consists of a letter and a subsequent note written by Amory B. Lovins, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute, addressed to The American Spectator. Lovins refutes claims made by writer William Tucker regarding the causes of the California electricity crisis, specifically challenging Tucker's assertions that Internet growth drove a surge in electricity demand and that the state suffered from a lack of generating capacity.

This preface to the 2001 re-release of 'Brittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security' argues that U.S. energy security is compromised by a reliance on centralized, vulnerable infrastructure. The authors contend that domestic energy sources are not inherently secure and that true resilience requires a shift toward diverse, dispersed, and renewable energy systems.

The report 'Battling Fuel Waste in the Military' by Amory Lovins (RMI) argues that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) suffers from systemic fuel inefficiency due to a failure to account for the high cost of fuel delivery (logistics). By ignoring these costs during the design of weapons platforms and ships, the DOD maintains inefficient equipment that increases operational costs and inhibits warfighting capability. The author suggests that adopting fuel-saving technologies and 'green design' could save billions of dollars annually and improve military agility and security.

This statement by Ken Wicker and Karl R. Rábago of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues against the increased use of coal for electricity generation in Colorado, advocating instead for a diversified energy portfolio centered on energy efficiency and clean renewable resources.

The La Pine Community Design Charrette report details a three-day intensive workshop held in April 2000 to develop a spatial vision for La Pine, Oregon. Facilitated by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the charrette involved local residents and technical experts collaborating to identify optimal locations for community facilities and to establish design principles aimed at reducing urban sprawl and increasing walkability.

A guide by Rocky Mountain Institute providing ten rules of engagement for major employers operating in one-industry towns to improve community relations and operational approvals.

The document is a guide from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) that provides a community leadership tool designed to improve decision-making for sustainable community development. It introduces a decision-making matrix that allows leaders to evaluate proposed actions against 15 systemic factors, comparing them with 'no-action' or alternative scenarios to identify long-term implications and quality-of-life effects beyond simple financial or technical data.

This report by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute argues that nuclear power has suffered a historic economic collapse and is obsolete compared to end-use efficiency, distributed generation, and new energy technologies. Lovins asserts that nuclear power is more expensive than its competitors and that transitioning away from it would improve global security by making nuclear materials harder to acquire.

A statement by Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins critiquing the shift from traditional botany to 'genetic engineering' (transgenics), arguing that the latter prioritizes economic profit and patentability over ecological safety and biological wisdom.

The document proposes a strategic commercialization path for fuel cells and hydrogen (H2) that avoids the need for immediate, massive bulk-supply infrastructure. The strategy relies on the development of "Hypercars"—ultralight, high-efficiency vehicles—and the integration of fuel-cell deployment between buildings and vehicles. By first establishing fuel cells in buildings for co- or trigeneration and using decentralized "hydrogen appliances" for production, the market can build the volume necessary to reduce fuel-cell costs to levels competitive for vehicles. Ultimately, the strategy envisions a transition from decentralized production to bulk supply, including wellhead reforming of natural gas with carbon sequestration and the conversion of hydroelectric dams into "Hydro-Gen" plants.

This 1998 report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the U.S. Department of Energy examines how energy-efficient building design—specifically improvements in lighting, heating, and cooling—can lead to significant increases in worker productivity, reduced absenteeism, and improved work quality. Through eight case studies of commercial and industrial facilities, the authors argue that the economic gains from productivity often far exceed the direct energy cost savings, making efficient design a highly cost-effective business strategy.

The Hypercar® is a conceptual vehicle developed by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) that integrates ultralightweight construction, ultra-aerodynamic design, and hybrid-electric propulsion to achieve extreme fuel efficiency without sacrificing safety or performance.

This 1998 report by the Rocky Mountain Institute examines water-saving technologies and practices for residential use, moving beyond the 1992 National Plumbing Standards to explore high-efficiency fixtures, graywater and rainwater systems, and sustainable landscaping.

This research paper by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) proposes the 'hypercar'—an ultralight, low-drag, hybrid-electric vehicle platform—as a means to accelerate the adoption of proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). By drastically reducing the energy required for propulsion, the hypercar platform mitigates the traditional challenges of hydrogen storage and fuel-cell cost, potentially allowing for the commercialization of hydrogen-powered transport years earlier than conventional vehicle designs would permit.

This research paper describes the 'hypercar' concept—an ultralight, hybrid-electric vehicle designed using a system-level optimization approach to minimize lifecycle environmental impacts without sacrificing consumer-valued features like performance and price.

This 1996 research paper examines the impact of 'hypercars'—ultralight vehicles using advanced composites and hybrid-electric drivesystems—on the recycling industry. While these vehicles offer significant fuel efficiency, emissions reductions, and manufacturing cost advantages, they threaten the economic viability of current recycling systems that rely on steel recovery. The authors propose a shift toward advanced recycling technologies like solvolysis and low-temperature catalytic pyrolysis to recover high-value carbon fibers and resins, suggesting that clean-sheet design for disassembly could ultimately increase overall automotive recyclability.

This 1996 report by the Rocky Mountain Institute uses scenario planning to explore four possible futures for U.S. municipal water systems in 2010. By crossing two critical uncertainties—the federal government's regulatory role and the availability of financial capital—the report outlines scenarios ranging from a highly regulated but underfunded 'Mandate' to a privatized, market-driven 'Off to Market' model. It emphasizes the severe risk of deferred infrastructure maintenance and the tension between increasing environmental standards and the public's reluctance to fund them through taxes or rate increases.

RMI provides comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding its March 1995 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on open-access transmission. The document argues for symmetrical economic rewards for demand-side resources and warns that rapid technological advances in distributed generation could render central thermal power plants and the traditional utility model obsolete.

The report 'REINVENTING THE WHEELS' proposes the 'Hypercar'—an ultralight hybrid-electric vehicle—as a way to increase fuel efficiency tenfold compared to 1990s standards. The authors argue that combining advanced composite materials to reduce weight and aerodynamic drag with a hybrid-electric drive to recover braking energy can create vehicles that are safer, cleaner, and cheaper to manufacture than traditional steel cars. The document advocates for a shift in industrial strategy and the use of 'feebates' to accelerate the transition away from the 'Iron Age' of automotive manufacturing.

This research paper by the Rocky Mountain Institute proposes a radical redesign of the light-vehicle industry, moving away from incremental improvements of steel cars toward 'supercars': ultralight, hybrid-electric vehicles constructed from net-shape polymer composites. The authors argue that integrating advanced materials, switched reluctance motors, and hybrid drives could increase fuel efficiency by up to ten times compared to 1990 US production cars, while simultaneously improving safety, reducing production costs, and transforming the industrial structure of automotive manufacturing and sales.