The Associated Press
Updated: 1:52 p.m. ET Nov. 22, 2004

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - The United States has a future beyond oil, and Amory Lovins has a plan to take the country there.

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Lovins, who emerged as one of the nation's most influential energy thinkers during the last oil crisis three decades ago, drives a hybrid that gets 64 miles per gallon and lives in a solar-powered house that is so energy efficient, he's able to grow bananas in an indoor jungle high in the Rocky Mountains.

Now, as crude prices hit record highs and American soldiers battle to control Iraq, he's preaching what he practices, trying to persuade America's business and government leaders that the nation can end its dependence on foreign oil, and make money along the way.

"The United States can get completely off oil and revitalize its economy led by business for profit," says Lovins, who runs the Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colo. "Saving and substituting for oil costs less than buying oil. Getting completely off oil makes sense and makes money."

A new book by Lovins and his think-tank colleagues, "Winning the Oil Endgame," offers a technology-driven blueprint to wean the country off petroleum within a few decades: first, double the fuel efficiency of cars, trucks and airplanes; then replace gasoline with alternative fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen.