Want to win the oil endgame? Want to stop the oil wars?

Give yourself 20 minutes and listen to Amory Lovins!

Amory Lovins was worried (and writing) about energy long before global warming was making the front -- or even back -- page of newspapers. Since studying at Harvard and Oxford in the 1960s, he's written dozens of books, and initiated ambitious projects -- cofounding the influential, environment-focused Rocky Mountain Institute; prototyping the ultra-efficient Hypercar -- to focus the world's attention on alternative approaches to energy and transportation.

His critical thinking has driven people around the globe -- from world leaders to the average Joe -- to think differently about energy and its role in some of our biggest problems: climate change, oil dependency, national security, economic health, and depletion of natural resources.

Lovins offers solutions as well. His book and site Winning the Oil Endgame shows how all US oil use can be eliminated by 2040. Lovins has always focused on solutions that conserve natural resources while also promoting economic growth; Texas Instruments and Wal-Mart are just two of the mega-corporations he has advised on improving energy efficiency.

A shot across the bow of the proud ship SSQuagmire

And the captain is pouting in his cabin....

The Iranian government reportedly is refusing U.S. dollars as payment for its oil, calling it an "unreliable currency."

Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari was quoted as saying Saturday that because "the dollar is no longer a reliable currency," his country would no longer accept it in oil sales, RIA Novosti reported.

"In line with a policy of selling crude oil in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the sale of our country's oil in U.S. dollars has been completely eliminated," Nozari reportedly said.

The monetary move comes after Iranian officials proposed excluding U.S. dollars from oil sales at an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries summit in November.

China's official Xinhua news agency said Iran's opposition of the U.S. dollar appears to be a response to growing pressure from the United States regarding the Middle Eastern country's controversial nuclear program.

Nearing $100 a barrel

SINGAPORE -- The price of oil rose to a new record above US$96 a barrel on Thursday after a surprise drop in US crude stockpiles raised concerns about supplies for the coming winter demand.

A further weakening of the US dollar as a result of the Federal Reserve’s move to cut interest rates by a quarter point and data showing strong US economic growth also contributed to the oil price spike.

Analysts said they didn’t see anything standing in the way of a run to US$100 per barrel after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continued to resist calls for more oil production. OPEC said the roaring market was beyond its control, with the cartel blaming speculation and politics for the surge in price.

Here we go....