Will Texas Oilman T. Boone Pickens Be Able To Kick Start Our Nation?
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Every since I sat in those long lines back during the oil embargo, I knew there would be a time when our nation would be facing an oil crisis. A crisis that would kick us right in the butt. A crisis that if we don’t start to respond soon will either put is into a depression or force us into a war. War? That’s right. If our nation faces economic extinction I have no doubt that we will take the oil by force.
Now along comes Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens who is about to start kicking some rear ends in Washington. A kick that is desparately needed. You see we have completely ignored our situation spending some $700 Billion a year to import oil. There is little doubt in my mind that spending this much to fuel our economy is eventually going to bankrupt us. So what does Mr. Pickens propose?
Well according to this USA Today article it states:
Today, Pickens will take the wraps off what he’s calling the Pickens Plan for cutting the USA’s demand for foreign oil by more than a third in less than a decade. To promote it, he is bankrolling what his aides say will be the biggest public policy ad campaign ever. The website, www.pickensplan.com, goes live today.
Jay Rosser, Pickens’ ever-present public relations man, promises that Pickens’ face will be seen on Americans’ televisions this fall almost as frequently as John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s.
“Neither presidential candidate is talking about solving the oil problem. So we’re going to make ‘em talk about it,” Pickens says.
“Nixon said in 1970 that we were importing 20% of our oil and that by 1980 it would be 0%. That didn’t happen,” Pickens says. “It went to 42% in 1991 with the Gulf War. It’s just under 70% now. Where do you think we’re going to be in 10 years when our economy is busted and we’re importing 80% of our oil?”
Finding solutions to other major issues, including health care, are important, he concedes. But “If you don’t solve the energy problem, it’s going to break us before we even get to solving health care and some of these other important issues.” And it has to be done with the same sense of urgency that President Eisenhower had when he pushed the rapid development of the interstate highway system during the Cold War.
Of course, Pickens also has a particular solution in mind.
Wind. And natural gas.
Getting lots more electricity with wind is only half of the Pickens Plan. Increasing wind-power production by itself won’t reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil because most of that oil is consumed as gasoline.
The key, Pickens says, is that wind energy can be used as a substitute for natural gas now burned to generate electricity. That, in turn, will make far more natural gas available for use as a transportation fuel. Pickens’ plan is to produce enough wind power within 10 years to divert 20% of the natural gas now used to fuel power plants for use in cars and trucks. That’s much more aggressive a growth plan for the development of wind energy than envisioned by the Depart of Energy, which doesn’t expect the USA to be getting 20% of its total energy needs from wind until at least 2030.
Pickens foresees as many as a third of the vehicles running on natural gas within only a few years. Julius Pretterebner, director of the Global Oil Group at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, says getting 15% to 20% of the USA’s cars to run on natural gas — in some cases, in mixtures with other fuels in dual-fuel vehicles — by 2020 would be an outstanding achievement, and doing that will require federal support to expand the necessary infrastructure.
I saw the first of Mr Pickens ads this morning on CNN. Hopefully his other ads which will start appearing soon and will in fact get all of us, including the presidential candidates, talking and addressing this problem. It is time to wake up America. If we don’t put pressure on our political candidates and those already in Congress, these yahoo’s will not take any action on their own.
But what do you think? Is it time for America to take serious the oil crisis? Is it time for our leaders to get off their butts and start to work on a solution? Or are you just tickle pink with the way we are heading?
Comments welcome.
8 Comments
Dan Gray
July 8th, 2008
at 7:11am
The comeback of CNG as a transportation fuel was one of the biggest stories at the Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Conference back in May. It wasn’t just that T. Boone Pickens spoke at the event … it was the remarkable resurgence of interest and products.
You can walk into (the right) Ford dealership today and order a propane-powered Roush F-150, or you can go to a converter and have your present truck modified to use propane.
This technology works well and it’s here today. In some parts of the country, natural gas costs just a tiny fraction of gasoline.
I shot a couple of video reports at the conference that might open some eyes. The first is a very cool IMPCO-modified Ford Mustang:
http://www.mpgomatic.com/2008/05/18/propane-mustang/
The second is the Honda NGV Civic with a Phill home refueling station:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObaxHhYiuNM
You can walk into (the right) Honda dealership and order a NGV Civic today, although you might have to wait a while for delivery, as they’re in demand …
Ron Schenone
July 8th, 2008
at 10:15am
Hello Dan,
Thanks so much for the links. Very interesting.
Regards, Ron
Urban Underbrink
July 8th, 2008
at 6:42pm
I am for wind, solar, geo thermal, nuclear, Shale, drilling in Alaska and Off Shore Drilling. We have to do something to prevent us from decay until a REAL alternate energy source is found. There must be progress on a practical alternate energy source. Put the entire Congress & Senate on this project and hold them accountable to make real progress. Set dates and if they continue to do nothing as usual, put them in Prison and take their retirement pay from them. The new Politicians will get the idea and start doing something.
Gray Stroke
July 8th, 2008
at 7:37pm
We need parallel solutions:
1) Recycle spent fuel rods like the French (Nuclear is my industry) we can recycle over 90% and reduce the hazard of storage.
2) Drill the 3 trillion barrels we have NOW. We need to make a start and quit whining.
3) Wind power is nice but 3-5 megawatt is not sufficient but good PR and it does have limited application but use it where it will work well.
4) Revisit the insane EPA regs that are literally choking out MPGs on our vehicles. Like Global Warming we are living in an age of junk political socialists. The Europeans are concerned about emissions also, yet they have over 30 models of vehicles that get over 35 mpg and we have a few? Give me a break!
4) Solar please great PR but I remember returning from Germany after a 2 year tour and the so called oil shortages (of the 70’s) how much has solar progressed? some thanks to nano technology but not much.
Finally, I have not seen the earth-worshiping enviro-nazis produce a single mega-watt and lay down their money on the line. What I do see is a out of balance group of nuts that tell us what we can’t do………..are U kidding me……??? Why do we let a few hundred thousand nuts tell the 300 million American what we can’t do?
I say enough take a freaking hike and go live out in the woods by candle light………..!!!!
david syme
July 9th, 2008
at 2:55am
I am emailing from Scotland. We have had the alternative power argument for sometime - we have lots of wind and sea!
The problem with windpower is that it is not consistent and the energy needed has to be supported all the time from the usual sources. The massively sized windmills used to get the wind is also a problem - they blot our beautiful landscape.
Things are never so easy as they first appear.
Urban Underbrink
July 12th, 2008
at 6:42am
We must have more Nuclear Plants for our electrical needs. I think T-Bone has a ve$ted interest in his windmill idea. Windmills would only be good if used to convert water into Hydrogen and Oxygen which could be used in a fuel cell to power pollution free electric autos. That would free up Natural Gas for use by Industry and Autos.
Ryan
July 12th, 2008
at 1:28pm
Hydrogen fuel cells “don’t work”.
I suspect that when they figure out some rationale for charging $4.50 a gallon for something derived from water (the hydrogen), that it will work.
Heavy research is going into alternative fuels that are cheaper for them to make and cost you the same amount, pollute more, pollute less, pollute whatever as long as they get bigger profits.
This whole Ethanol thing is so dirty that anyone behind it ought really to be shot.
Larry Pettit
July 15th, 2008
at 12:25pm
I agree with Mr. Pickens whole heartedly. I do not know much about what resources are available as far as alternative power, however I have no doubt our nation has made little effort to develop any other means, and I firmly believe that our country is at least 15 years behind where we should be to develop alternative fuels.
It angers me that the policy of our current President is to allow all his buddies whom he has supported all along the ability to drill near our coast line. If we do in fact need to do this I would agree, however with no mention of deveolpment of alternative energy and to just say “we have to find more oil” is unnacceptable and self serving on the part of our President and his administration.
I am truly excitied that Mr. Pickens will air his commercicals during this election it IS the number one problem out there, and he does need to wake up our country and people who wish to lead it in order to get something done.
Best of luck to you and your efforts, I will do my part to spread the word about this campaign as I think it deserves substantial merit.
Larry M. Pettit