Oxidation from alcohols to carboxylic acids, a class of essential chemicals in daily life, academic laboratories, and industry, is a fundamental reaction, usually using at least a stoichiometric amount of an expensive and toxic oxidant. Here, an efficient and practical sustainable oxidation technology of alcohols to carboxylic acids using pure O-2 or even O-2 in air as the oxidant has been developed: utilizing a catalytic amount each of Fe(NO3)(3)center dot 9H(2)O/TEMPO/MCl, a series of carboxylic acids were obtained from alcohols (also aldehydes) in high yields at room temperature. A 55 g-scale reaction was demonstrated using air. As a synthetic application, the first total synthesis of a naturally occurring allene, i.e., phlomic acid, was accomplished.