Amory Bloch Lovins (born November 13, 1947)
is an American writer, physicist, and former chairman/chief scientist of the
Rocky Mountain Institute.
He has written on
energy policy
Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...
and related areas for four decades, and served on the
US National Petroleum Council, an oil industry lobbying group, from 2011 to 2018.
Lovins has promoted
energy efficiency, the use of
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
sources, and the generation of energy at or near the site where the energy is actually used. Lovins has also advocated a "
negawatt
A ''negawatt-hour'' is a unit of energy saved as a direct result of energy conservation measures, such as reducing the use of heat or electricity. The concept was developed after Amory Lovins authored an article published in the March 21, 1985 i ...
revolution" arguing that utility customers don't want
kilowatt-hours
A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a non-SI unit of energy equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ) in SI units, which is the energy delivered by one kilowatt of power for one hour. Kilowatt-hours are a commo ...
of electricity; they want energy services. In the 1990s, his work with
Rocky Mountain Institute included the design of an ultra-efficient automobile, the
Hypercar. He has provided expert testimony and published 31 books, including ''
Reinventing Fire'', ''
Winning the Oil Endgame'', ''
Small is Profitable'', ''
Brittle Power'', and ''
Natural Capitalism''.
Early life and education
Lovins was born in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. His father, Gerald H. Lovins worked as an engineer and his mother, Miriam Lovins, worked as a social services administrator. Lovins is the brother of
Julie Beth Lovins, a
computational linguist
Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the computational modelling of natural language, as well as the study of appropriate computational approaches to linguistic questions. In general, computational linguistics ...
who wrote the first
stemming algorithm for word matching.
In 1964, Lovins entered
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
as a
National Merit Scholar. After two years there, he transferred to
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
.
In 1969, he became a junior research fellow at
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
, as a result of which he had a temporary
Oxford master of arts status. He left without a degree in 1971, because the university would not allow him to pursue a doctorate in energy.
Lovins moved to London to pursue his energy work, and returned to the United States in 1981. He settled in western Colorado in 1982.
[Lovins Bio]
Lovins' four grandparents emigrated to the United States from small villages lying between
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
and
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
in the early 20thcentury.
[
] Most of his remaining family are believed to have been killed by German
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
in the 1941
Tarashcha massacre.
Work
Friends of the Earth
Each summer from 1965 to 1981, Lovins guided mountaineering trips and photographed the
White Mountains of
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, contributing photographs to ''At Home in the Wild: New England's White Mountains''. In 1971, he wrote about Wales' endangered
Snowdonia National Park
Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
in the book, ''Eryri, the Mountains of Longing'', commissioned by
David Brower, president of
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of grassroots environmental organizations in 73 countries. About half of the member groups call themselves "Friends of the Earth" in their own languages; the others use other ...
.
[Profile of the 2007 Blue Planet Prize Recipient]
Lovins spent about a decade as British representative for Friends of the Earth.
During the early 1970s, Lovins became interested in resource policy, especially
energy policy
Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...
. The
1973 energy crisis
In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after E ...
helped create an audience for his writing and an essay originally penned as a U.N. paper grew into his first book concerned with energy, ''World Energy Strategies'' (1973). His next book was ''
Non-Nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy'' (1975), co-authored with John H. Price.
Rocky Mountain Institute
By 1978, Lovins had published six books and consulted widely. In 1982, he and his wife,
Hunter Lovins
L. Hunter Lovins (née Sheldon, born February 26, 1950, in Middlebury, Vermont) is an American environmentalist, author, sustainable development proponent, co-founder of Rocky Mountain Institute, and president of the nonprofit organization Natu ...
founded
Rocky Mountain Institute, based in
Snowmass, Colorado. Together with a group of colleagues, the Lovinses fostered efficient resource use and
sustainable development
Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...
.
Lovins clients have included many
''Fortune'' 500 companies, real-estate developers, and utilities.
Public-sector clients have included the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
,
UN, Resources for the Future, many national governments, and 13 US states.
Lovins served in 1980 and 1981 on the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Research Advisory Board, and from 1999 to 2001 and 2006 to 2008 on
Defense Science Board task forces on military energy efficiency and strategy. His visiting academic chairs most recently included a visiting professorship in Stanford University's school of engineering.
Since 1982, RMI has grown into a broad-based "think-and-do tank" with more than 600 staff and an annual budget over $120 million. RMI has spun off five for-profit companies.
Ideas
Soft energy paths

Amory Lovins published an article in ''
Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
'' called "Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?" in 1976. Lovins argued that the United States had arrived at an important crossroads and could take one of two paths.
The first, supported by U.S. policy, promised a future of steadily increasing reliance on
fossil fuel
A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s and
nuclear fission
Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactiv ...
, and had serious environmental risks. The alternative, which Lovins called "the soft path", favored "benign" sources of renewable energy like
wind power
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...
and
solar power
Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...
, along with a heightened commitment to energy conservation and energy efficiency. In October 1977, ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 185 ...
'' ran a cover story on Lovins' ideas.
Residential solar energy technologies are prime examples of soft energy technologies and rapid deployment of simple, energy conserving, residential solar energy technologies is fundamental to a soft energy strategy.
Lovins has described the "hard energy path" as involving inefficient energy use and centralized, non-renewable energy sources such as
fossil fuels
A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologica ...
. He believes soft path impacts are more "gentle, pleasant and manageable," than hard path impacts. These impacts range from the individual and household level to those affecting the very fabric of society at the national and international level.
[Amory Lovins (1977). ''Soft Energy Paths: Towards a Durable Peace'' ]
''Lovins on the Soft Path'' is a
documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
made by Amory and Hunter Lovins. It received "Best Science and Technology Film,
San Francisco International Film Festival
The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...
, 1983; Blue Ribbon,
American Film Festival, 1982; Best of the Festival, Environmental Education Film Festival, 1982; Best Energy Film, International Environmental Film Festival, 1982; and Chris Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film Festival, 1982."
Nuclear power limitations
Lovins wrote (as an attempt to balance the inherently intermittent nature of solar and wind) that nuclear power plants are
intermittent in that they will sometimes fail unexpectedly, often for long periods of time.
For example, in the United States, 132 nuclear plants were built, and 21% were permanently and prematurely closed due to reliability or cost problems, while another 27% have at least once completely failed for a year or more. The remaining U.S. nuclear plants produce approximately 90% of their full-time full-load potential, but even they must shut down (on average) for about 1 out of each 18 months for scheduled refueling and maintenance.
To cope with such intermittence by nuclear (and centralized fossil-fueled) power plants, utilities install a "reserve margin" of roughly 15% extra capacity spinning ready for instant use.
Lovins also argues that nuclear plants have an additional disadvantage: for safety, they must instantly shut down in a power failure, but due to the inherent nuclear-physics of the systems, they can't be restarted quickly. For example, during the
Northeast Blackout of 2003, nine operating U.S. nuclear units had to shut down temporarily. During the first three days after restarting, their output was less than 3% of normal. After twelve days of restart, their average capacity loss had exceeded 50 percent.
Lovins provided his general assessment of nuclear power in a 2011 ''Huffington Post'' article, saying that "Nuclear power is the only energy source where mishap or malice can kill so many people so far away; the only one whose ingredients can help make and hide nuclear bombs; the only climate solution that substitutes proliferation, accident, and high-level radioactive waste dangers. Indeed, nuclear plants are so slow and costly to build that they reduce and retard climate protection". With respect to the
2011 Japanese nuclear accidents, Lovins wrote: "An earthquake-and-tsunami zone crowded with 127 million people is an unwise place for 54 reactors".
Regarding nuclear power in the United Kingdom, Amory Lovins commented in 2014 that:
Britain's plan for a fleet of new nuclear power stations is ... unbelievable ... It is economically daft. The guaranteed price eing offered to French state company EDFis over seven times the unsubsidized price of new wind in the US, four or five times the unsubsidized price of new solar power in the US. Nuclear prices only go up. Renewable energy prices come down. There is absolutely no business case for nuclear. The British policy has nothing to do with economic or any other rational base for decision making.
Negawatt revolution

A
negawatt
A ''negawatt-hour'' is a unit of energy saved as a direct result of energy conservation measures, such as reducing the use of heat or electricity. The concept was developed after Amory Lovins authored an article published in the March 21, 1985 i ...
is a unit in watts of power saved. It is basically the opposite of a
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
. Amory Lovins has advocated a "negawatt revolution", arguing that utility customers don't want
kilowatt-hours
A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a non-SI unit of energy equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ) in SI units, which is the energy delivered by one kilowatt of power for one hour. Kilowatt-hours are a commo ...
of electricity; they want energy services such as hot showers, cold beer, lit rooms, and spinning shafts, which can come more cheaply if electricity is used more efficiently.
[Amory B. Lovins]
The Negawatt Revolution
''Across the Board'', Vol. XXVII No. 9, September 1990, pp. 21–22.
Hypercar
In 1994, Amory Lovins developed the design concept of the
Hypercar. This vehicle would have ultra-light construction with an
aerodynamic
Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
body using advanced
composite material
A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...
s, low-
drag design, and
hybrid drive
A hybrid drive (solid state hybrid drive – SSHD, and dual-storage drive) is a logical or physical computer storage device that combines a faster storage medium such as solid-state drive (SSD) with a higher-capacity hard disk drive (HDD). Th ...
. Designers of the Hypercar claim that it would achieve a three- to fivefold improvement in
fuel economy, equal or better performance, safety, amenity, and affordability, compared with today's
cars
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
.
In 1999, RMI took this process a step further by launching a for-profit venture, Hypercar Inc. in which RMI has a minority interest.
[What is a Hypercar Vehicle?]
from Hypercar.com In 2004, Hypercar Inc. changed its name to
Fiberforge to better reflect the company's new goal of lowering the cost of high-volume advanced-composite structures by leveraging the patents of David F. Taggart, one of the founders of Hypercar, Inc.
Lovins says the commercialization of the Hypercar began in 2014, with the production of the all-carbon electric
BMW i3
The BMW i3 is an electric car that was manufactured by German marque BMW from 2013 to 2022. The i3 was BMW's first mass-produced zero-emissions vehicle, zero emissions vehicle and was launched as part of BMW's electric vehicle ''BMW i'' sub-bra ...
family and the 313 miles per gallon
Volkswagen XL1.
Citizen participation
Lovins does not see his energy ideas as green or left-wing, and he is an advocate of
private enterprise
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...
and
free market economics. He notes that
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
has made News Corporation carbon-neutral, with savings of millions of dollars. But, says Lovins, large institutions are becoming more "gridlocked and moribund", and he supports the rise of "citizen organizations" around the world.
Paul Hawken
Paul Gerard Hawken (born February 8, 1946) is an American environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, economist, and activist.
Biography
Hawken was born in San Mateo, California, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where his father worked at ...
's '' Blessed Unrest'' chronicles the rise of millions of non-profit citizen organizations around the world — the greatest social movement
A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or Political movement, political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to re ...
in history. As central institutions become more gridlocked and moribund, a new vitality is beginning to spread renewal through the stem to the flower.
Criticism
Institutions and energy specialists have criticized various positions taken by Amory Lovins. One of the main points of contention is the assumption by the RMI of a linear relation between improvements in energy efficiency and reductions in aggregate energy consumption.
The
Jevons Paradox
In economics, the Jevons paradox (; sometimes Jevons effect) occurs when technological advancements make a resource more efficient to use (thereby reducing the amount needed for a single application); however, as the cost of using the resourc ...
suggests that improvements in energy efficiency actually lead to an increase in energy use, as a result of decreasing cost. This "rebound effect" is downplayed in the analyses performed by Lovins.
Other assumptions made by Lovins have also received criticism. For example, in Lovins' book, Reinventing Fire, it is assumed that 50% of all electricity in the US could come from wind in 2050. Other authors find that this is capped probably around 30%. Similar overestimates are identified in PV (solar), where estimates are made for about 30%; this is seen as implausible. Moreover, according to the authors, no analyses are given about the need for huge volumes of electricity storage, which would be needed when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow.
Awards
Amory Lovins was elected a Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
in 1984, of the
World Academy of Art and Science
The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries.
It serves as a forum for s ...
in 1988, and of the World Business Academy in 2001. He has received the
Right Livelihood Award, the
Blue Planet Prize,
Volvo Environment Prize, the 4th Annual
Heinz Award
The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Foundations, Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Eco ...
in the Environment in 1998, and the National Design (Design Mind), Jean Meyer, and Lindbergh Awards.
Lovins is also the recipient of the ''Time''
Hero for the Planet awards, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, the Harold and Margaret Sprout Award, and the Shingo, Nissan, Mitchell, and Onassis Prizes. He received a
MacArthur Fellowship
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...
in 1993, and is an honorary member of the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
(AIA), a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and an Honorary Senior Fellow of the
Design Futures Council
The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment. Members inclu ...
.
He is on the Advisory Board of the
Holcim Foundation.
In 2009, ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine named Lovins as one of the world's 100 most influential people.
On March 17, 2016, Lovins received the
Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse (Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit) from the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...
for intellectually underpinning Germany's
Energiewende, most notably with his concept of "soft energy" and how that promotes peace and prosperity.
Lovins was a senior
Ashoka Fellow
Ashoka (formerly branded Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-based nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Ashoka invests in over 3,800 social entre ...
in 2009.
Personal life
In 1979 Amory Lovins married
L. Hunter Sheldon, a lawyer, forester, and social scientist. They separated in 1989 and divorced in 1999.
Iconoclast Gets Consultant Fees To Tell Big Oil It's Fading Fast
/ref> In 2007, he married Judy Hill, a fine-art landscape photographer.
Books
This is a list of books which are authored or co-authored by Amory B. Lovins:[''The International Who's Who 2011'', 74th edition, Routledge, 2010, p. 1259.]
* ''World Energy Strategies: Facts, Issues, and Options'' London: Friends of the Earth Ltd. for Earth Resources Research Ltd., 1975. .
* ''The Energy Controversy: Soft Path Questions and Answers'' (1979)
* '' Non-Nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy'' (with John H. Price) San Francisco, 1980.
* ''Least-Cost Energy: Solving the CO2 Problem'' Andover, Mass. : Brick House Pub. Co., 1982
* '' Brittle Power'': Energy Strategy for National Security (with L Hunter Lovins) Andover, Mass. : Brick House, 1982 re-released in 2001.
* ''The First Nuclear World War'' (with Patrick O'Heffernan; L Hunter Lovins) New York: Morrow, 1983.
* ''Reinventing Electric Utilities: Competition, Citizen Action, and Clean Power'' (1996)
* ''Factor Four: Doubling Wealth – Halving Resource Use: A Report to the Club of Rome'' (1997)
* '' Natural Capitalism'' (2000)
* '' Small Is Profitable'' (2003)
* ''The Natural Advantage Of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation And Governance in the 21st Century'' (2004)
* ''Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run: A Call to Save the Earth'' (2007)
Non-English
* ''Faktor vier. Doppelter Wohlstand – halbierter Verbrauch'' (1997)
* ''Facteur 4: Rapport au Club de Rome'' (1997)
* ''Öko-Kapitalismus: Die industrielle Revolution des 21. Jahrhunderts'' (2002)
See also
* Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
The anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 80 anti-nuclear groups that oppose nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and/or uranium mining. These have included the Abalone Alliance, Citizens Awareness Network, Clamshell All ...
* Energy security and renewable technology
* Hermann Scheer
* Mark Z. Jacobson
* Renewable energy commercialization
Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include ...
References
External links
The Rocky Mountain Institute's home page
The frugal cornucopian
Amory Lovin's presentation
to th
Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2016
March 17–18, 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovins, Amory
1947 births
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American business writers
American environmentalists
American non-fiction environmental writers
21st-century American physicists
Appropriate technology advocates
Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford
Harvard College alumni
Living people
MacArthur Fellows
People associated with energy
Renewable energy commercialization
American anti–nuclear power activists
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
American social entrepreneurs