T. Boone: "Not Overwhelmed" By WH Candidates' Energy Plans
T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire Texas oilman, told a collection of Atlantic Media reporters tonight that he is concerned the presidential candidates "don't know much about energy" and aren't equipped to initiate a sweeping plan to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
"I'm not overwhelmed," Pickens said when asked if he believes Barack Obama and John McCain are committed to pushing the proposals necessary to transition to clean energy. "I hope I"m not looking at two candidates that look like the last 15. They're going to have to get a lot smarter about energy than they are right now."
Over filet and roasted vegetables, Pickens said, however, that after meeting with McCain and Obama earlier in the campaign season he would rate their interest in his effort a "10." McCain, Pickens said, told the 82-year-old that he'd elevated energy to the top issue in the campaign.
But Pickens noted of McCain's energy priority: "He's very focused on nuclear energy, but nuclear energy does not address what I'm after."
His wife, Madeleine, by his side, Pickens also dismissed suggestions by some politicians -- notably GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin -- that drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge is the answer.
"If you could pick up a million barrels a day off of ANWR, I'd be surprised," he said.
Pickens, of course, funded the effort to Swift Boat John F. Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 but has toured the nation this cycle lecturing on the urgency of his cause. Dressed in a suit and tie, tired, he said, after making three other appearances in Washington today, including an address to the National Press Club, Pickens still manages to pepper his remarks with folksy Texas talk. "Like a duck on June bug," he quips to underscore one point. And when, at the end of a long day, he can't quite summon the full story he had launched, he places a hand gently on his wife's shoulder, and she, in a soft voice, reminds him where he'd left off.
Pickens is flat serious about the cause, and repeating his stories for eager audiences is par for that course. Despite the fatigue -- with 42 days to go and a dimmed view that either presidential candidate has what it takes to implement the change required -- he trudges on. Information is his chief ally in this massive mission -- to convince politicians and the American public to pledge to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil by 30% in 10 years.
Regaling his dinner companions with talk of the merits of wind energy and natural gas, he suggested that the infrastructure needed to tap natural reserves will take time to build but that it can be handled by the private sector. Politicians also must get on board, he said, noting that McCain and Obama haven't signed on to his pledge. "We're going to turn up the heat," he promised.
"This has become a crusade for me, and so I decided whatever it cost I was going to do it," Pickens said. "I could afford it, I understood it, and the American people didn't."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
NOTE: A full transcript of Pickens' remarks will be available on On Call tomorrow.
With all the natural gasbags in Washington, it is a wonder we aren't drilling there.
Sept 23 2008 T Boone Pickens said he lost one billion on missing the down turn on oil prices. A natural gas car will use as much gas as a house during the heating seasons. A small increase in natural gas demand will cause a big increase in home heating prices.
Pickens was wrong on the direction of oil prices. Most likely he wrong on how much oil is in ANWR and how much our heating bills will go up after million of natural gas cars get on the road.
First, this country needs to increase electrical power production and the efficiency of usage and distribution. This is done with state of the art power factor correction equipment and distribution networks. This requires experts electrical and power engineering .
The oil problem can be addressed by drill 25 to 50 miles of the coast line. This requires Pelosi to get off her big fat, but I do know her investments with T Boone Pickens are a conflict of the country's interest!
First, this country needs to increase electrical power production and the efficiency of usage and distribution. This is done with state of the art power factor correction equipment and distribution networks. This requires experts electrical and power engineering .
The oil problem can be addressed by drill 25 to 50 miles of the coast line. This requires Pelosi to get off her big fat, but I do know her if her investments with T Boone Pickens are a conflict of the country's interest!
"A small increase in natural gas demand will cause a big increase in home heating prices." Not true.
Natural gas supplies and production are growing much much faster than demand.
Pickens is not wrong on the supply of natural gas. US production is up 8% year on year, due to massive amounts of new reserves discovered in the Barnett, the Woodford, the Fayetteville, the Haynesville, and the Marcellus. Pickens is not doing a good job of pointing out how much natural gas reserves have increased in the past few years. He is entirely correct that the known natural gas reserves within the US can easily supply the transportation sector.
If Obama was to "sign on" to Picken's pledge, it would only increase his chances of being elected.
Increased domestic energy production of all kinds will create thousands of jobs and reduce the money we send overseas. One wonders why the Democrats particularly object. I'm guessing, but I think I know. It just might work. The only rational reason I can fathom is that the Democratic leadership seems to be beholden to environmentalists who actually prefer shortages and higher prices to force more conservation to reduce carbon emissions. Think I'm paranoid?
I have read several opinion articles by such folks who advocate more federal taxes on carbon produced energy for that purpose. Is that part of the increased tax revenues they have in mind? One wonders! I note in the recent VP debate, Senator Biden stated very clearly his mindset that global warming is entirely the fault of humans.
With the advances in solar generated power the need for oil or natural gas will be neglible in five years. I'm talking heat with the solar array I recently installed myself on the roof of my office building. NO MORE OIL!!!!!!!!!! Come on Boone! Mention solar! The monster called AMERICAN INGENUITY HAS REARED IT'S HEAD. THERE IS VERY DEEP SEATED ANGER OUT HERE. You don't need to buckle when Pallin shows up. Be a man. No drilling! You're surrounding yourself with pscychophants. Get real.
With the advances in solar generated power the need for oil or natural gas will be neglible in five years. I'm talking heat with the solar array I recently installed myself on the roof of my office building. NO MORE OIL!!!!!!!!!! Come on Boone! Mention solar! The monster called AMERICAN INGENUITY HAS REARED IT'S HEAD. THERE IS VERY DEEP SEATED ANGER OUT HERE. You don't need to buckle when Pallin shows up. Be a man. No drilling! You're surrounding yourself with pscychophants. Get real.
Most of these comments are missing the point. Boone isn't trying to be an idealist or tell anybody the right or wrong way to make energy - he's looking at the facts and promoting a plan that we KNOW can work right NOW! Betting the US economy on solar (great energy source) is a longshot at this point aka a reckless gamble. Offshore drilling will take at least 10 years to come online IF it ever pans out as hoped. Natural Gas is a cleaner hydrocarbon available in our backyard and keeps our money going to Americans even if prices go up. Imported crude oil comes from mostly OPEC countries - old communists and terrorist supporters. Bottomline people that do not like us. We are giving them a trillion dollars a year at our own peril and we are losing influence on the world stage everyday. We need to support PickensPlan NOW
I support the Pickens Plan. I also support new refineries and drilling wherever we can, new power plants using nuclear, gas, solar and clean coal - all of which will produce jobs and help to reduce our dependence.
A word of caution for Mr. Pickens! He is attempting to obtain pledges of support from the candidates, which, of course, would be a useful first step. But be careful of pledges from candidates who are not committed. There are many ways to avoid pledges after election while seeming to try.
In the July 29 issue of the Wheeling, WVa newspaper, "The Intelligencer" it was reported that the WVa democratic governor and democratic Senator, Jay Rockefeller, announced the planed opening of a new plant near Wheeling to produce gasoline from clean coal using a technology already in use in China. The paper also reported the Governor and Senator's biggest concern was obtaining the necessary permits. I assume they are concerned about opposition from their democratic brethern in the federal congress - certainly not from republicans
Their concern is real. Let me relate an old true story. Years ago my previous employer tried to build a hydoelectric plant in a wilderness swamp in WVa. The site was uninhabited and had near perfect natural geographic conditions. The Company owned the land and the local population supported the project for the economic opportunities the new lake would offer. The swamp was man made years prior - not natural. Environmentalists from far away states never-the-less opposed the project and filed lawsuits over and over with sympathetic judges. The company won all the lawsuits, only to face more and more suits. Candidate Jimmy Carter running for President to gain WVa votes pledged his support if he was elected. He was elected, and maybe he tried. But was he committed? Apparently not! It never happened. The company needed energy - not hollow lawsuit victories. It substituted another less efficient, more expensive project. The swamp is still there. Carter's pledge was hollow. He apparently was not committed. His cover, of course, was he tried - how hard - we will never know.
Our future domestic energy projects will depend heavily on the permitting process, which in turn will depend heavily on the appointments the new President makes to key positions.
We must make sure the candidates we select are really committed to energy independence and jobs creation from ALL SOURCES.
So far the democratic leadership have made some reluctant concessions, but clearly are not really committed to nuclear energy and anything having to do with carbon emissions.
So does anyone other than Pickens have any kind of plan that moves us away from foreign oil dependence and toward energy independence? Much could be done toward building homes that are energy independent along with building cars that run on natural gas and electricity. But I have yet to see anyone besides Pickens propose any move toward responsible energy use and generation. The fact that prior polititions were unable to get projects done that produced energy in new and carbon free ways is due to the press and people not pressing the polititions to carry through on such. This is the jist of what Pickens is trying to do. Get people and press to focus on the need to move away from status quo.
How does that work? It is in many ways like the bootstrap process of a computer. Attention of the people is focused on the subject, the press sees the interest and starts to report on the subject which gets more people interested and then, as a by product, the polititions are empowered to act and cut down obsticals to projects. When such projects produce beneficial results, more people, press, and polititions support moves that provide energy independence. And so on.
What I would like to see is developement of hydrogen-electric hybrid powered cars and the infrastructure (fueling stations etc.) That would leave no dependence on foreign oil and no carbon footprint. Personally, I intend on delaying purchasing any new car until such is available as a standard car provided by all the major car manufactorers. I saw this type of crisis coming back in the early 1970's but I don't have the personel financial resources to initiate a campaign such as T. Boone Pickens has. Using technology to provide as much energy indipendance for each and every family or individual should be the end goal. But as Pickens points out, his plan is only an interim step toward such goals. We have to take that first step if we are ever going to get there.