Oilman and outspoken political activist T. Boone Pickens has the right idea for dealing with America’s energy crisis. His proposal, backed by a healthy dose of television advertising that has just started, urges Americans to elect leaders that will work to promote energy diversity.
Specifically, Pickens wants to begin using wind generated power to supply 22% of America’s electrical demands. Thus freeing up natural gas supplies to be used on automobiles… and reducing the amount of oil America needs to import in the short-term.
Pickens is backing up his words with action. Already he has begun purchasing wind turbines to fill a number of giant wind farms that he is constructing.
Here is one of the videos from his site…
Pickens, if you weren’t already aware, was one of the main people behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that helped sink John Kerry’s campaign. So this isn’t some Green hippie laying out these ideas.
It’s time for conservatives to make conservation a priority and stop the massive transfer of wealth to the Middle East. Let the Midwest supply use with wind power instead.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
He’s making a good point, but there’s a few areas that seem fuzzy. Notably, who is this “costing” and who is “saving” all of this money? Consumers? The government? How and why? We don’t have a socialist economy, so saving money is really somewhat relative to who is saving.
Electricity from wind turbines won’t be free either…it’s just a way of increasing supply to fill massive demand and keep prices low in the future.
Also, he makes it sound as if 4% consuming 25% of the oil is a problem from the perspective of an imbalance of wealth. What it’s really a problem of is a capacity that will self-destruct and take all of us with it as it is inevitably scaled up. When China goes to 150 out of 1000 people with cars, there’s not going to be a single drop of oil left.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:41 am
Well, the problem is that we’re importing massive amounts of oil from Kuwait and Dubai and such. So those nations are growing hugely properous as the wealth of our nation is drained.
It’s not a matter of costing or saving money. It’s a matter of producing the energy we consume so that we are not paying foreigners to do it for us. And with wind and solar… the price shouldn’t fluctuate. The sun won’t stop shining and the wind won’t stop blowing. If anything, energy will slowly become cheaper and the technology to collect it becomes cheaper.
Oil is killing us right now because we’re having to buy it from a cartel of Arabian princes who are putting the screws to us.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Wow, we can ALL agree on this issue! We are coming together America!
It is about time…
July 15th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Please let me know how to contact Mr. Pickens. I have a patented idea to assist with our energy crisis.
Thank You
Pat Clark
941-955-2000
July 16th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
About a month ago I had to go out to Baton Rouge. As I was going down I-10 there were about a dozen or so flat bed big-rigs hauling turbine blades and components.
July 16th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Nice, I wonder if they were on their way to one of Mr. Pickens’ facilities. Very possible if the trucks were heading West.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Now, how is this going to work since it’s not windy all the time?
July 16th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I think it’s meant as a supplement rather than a complete replacement for other sources. Nuclear seems like the best by far. But wind could be tapped for 10% or 20% of our needs. The center of the country is pretty consistantly windy… and these turbines will spin at low speeds anyway.
The only way to make this work is to use everything. Wind doesn’t work all the time and it’s not as good as solar in some respects. But… solar only works during the day.
Ultimately, nuclear needs to be the backbone and these other technologies can fill in their pieces of the pie. We just have to stop importing foreign oil already. The idea we have to go begging some clown prince in Saudi Arabia or Qatar to produce more oil is pathetic. And they’re building giant skyscrapers and manmade islands with our money.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Is he swiftboating the energy situation? Good job T-bone.