Energy forever. (Correspondence).

American Prospect, The, March, 2002

ON SEPTEMBER 11, OUR chronic energy crisis went critical. According to Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins's two-part article ["Mobilizing Energy Solutions," January 28 (mistakenly titled "Supply-Side Stupor"), and "Energy Forever," February 11], the solution is simple, apolitical, and painless: "Policy tweaking" and innovations such as superwindows and Hypercars[TM] can turn gas-guzzling America into a cost- and energy-efficient nirvana.

Yet the Lovinses fail to support this central thesis. By their own admission, the 15 percent fall in oil use between 1979 and 1985--the only significant such drop in 30 years--"was spurred by high and rising energy prices." Though the Lovinses also cite the period of 1996 to 1999, when energy consumption increased only...