Posted on 07/27/2008 6:25:08 AM PDT by kellynla
Americans have at long last seen some leadership on Capitol Hill on the energy crisis.
The bad news is, that leadership had to come from outside Washington.
Famed billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens brought a clear vision and a reverberating sense of urgency to Congress this past week in promoting his plan for energy independence.
The plan includes a huge shift to wind energy for electricity and to natural gas for cars and trucks. He suggested the government should lead the way, by mandating that government agencies switch to natural gas vehicles.
"This is an emergency," he said. "This is like a war. The national economy is at risk here."
He's right. And he makes more sense than anyone we've heard in Washington.
Cynics suggest he's in it for the money. He's heavily invested in both wind energy and natural gas. Guess what: So what if he is? Certainly OPEC is in it for the money!
Besides, we don't get the impression that's what's driving Pickens. We think he's showing both leadership and patriotism. For one thing, he hardly needs more money: With close to $4 billion, he's already the 117th richest man in the country and the 369th richest in the world, according to Forbes .
We're not the only ones who believe in Pickens.
"To put it plainly, T. Boone Pickens is out to save America," Carl Pope of the Sierra Club has said.
Actually, the real issue anyway isn't his money, it's ours. As Pickens points out, we're spending $700 billion a year for foreign oil -- which he calls the biggest transfer of wealth in human history. That's simply unsustainable. And it's a historic blunder on our part, considering that much of that money is flowing to avowed enemies of the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at chronicle.augusta.com ...
T. Boone Pickens. Follow the money!!!
I saw a clip of Pickens being questioned this morning on Fox & Friends. He said he is a proponent of Wind, Solar, Alternative Fuels AND Drilling AND Nuclear. He’s for anything to make us “Energy Independent”. Unfortunately, this last part is being omitted from the press articles.
Leadership in technology never comes from Washington unless it's for war. Did DC invent the airplane, electric light, telephone or television? As is usual free enterprise jumps to the fore in attempting to solve problems.
* Cease all ethanol subsidies. (If an entrepreneur want to “go for it” let ethanol be successful on its own merits with good ‘ol American market forces.) Ethanol takes away from food production and the unintended consequence is higher food costs. As diesel prices go up, the cost of farming tips the balance of cost to make ethanol a bad idea. Just say "no" to ethanol! Even Jimmy Carter says that diverting farm production from food to fuel is dumb – even HE gets it. This will create only ONE "blend" of gasoline and will cease regional "boutique" blends (gasohols) which are stupid, costly, and meaningless. Trucking custom blends around the country is wasteful. Ethanol blends may actually lead to fewer miles to the gallon, and adds to the cost of production and transportation. Newer cars do not need oxygenated fuels.
* Lift the restrictions in order to drill for oil in Alaska, Gulf of Mexico, and other sites in the CONUS as a matter of national security.
* Encourage the petro industry to construct state-of-the-art refineries and/or retrofit current and dormant ones and crank up production for our newly-accessed oil in the CONUS.
* Make all “carbon credit” scams unlawful. Discrediting Algore should have been a slam-dunk a long time ago. Stop electing Reps who buy into the Global Warming / Global Cooling / Climate Change Hoax. CO2 is not our enemy!
* Construct SEVERAL, regional Pebble-Bed Modular Reactors (or other similar modern designs) that are rechargeable, and cleaner than any current nuclear generator design. Refine spent nuke fuel for recycling. DO SOMETHING NUCLEAR to resolve energy problems.
* Use the residual heat from the reactors above to process motor fuel from coal and/or shale. Even though Clinton "stole" some of the best coal reserves, we still have a lot to use.
* Become independent enough to make the cartels (i.e. OPEC) inconsequential.
* Lift or cap the tax on gasoline. When the tax is higher than the profit margin, the argument over what is “obscene” becomes moot.
* List (chapter and verse) all the regulations and laws that need to be repealed in order to drill, and drill now. Use this list as the new "Contract With America for Energy Security". Have a mega-bill introduced that in one fell swoop removes the self-imposed energy embargo.
If you squint real hard, and read between the lines, the ‘manifesto’ will require fewer RINOs and LibDems and the election of some clear-minded conservatives to even consider the above.
Don’t kid yourself. Pickens is primarily interested in getting the government(your tax dollars) to fund transmission lines for his windmills.
Windpower, at its best, that would only contribute less than 2% of our energy needs.
You need to send this to the RNC and Mc Cain. If they would propose this in a major economic platform it would pay huge dividends and put the Dem’s on the defensive. There is also the side benefits of “National Security” and the strengthening of the dollar, which makes it not only an Energy Policy but a combination Energy, National Defense and Economic policy.
This has been sent, in one form or another, to Sen Hutchison, the White House, VP Cheney, and the McCain camp (in the form of a question: Want to hear some tough talk on energy?). It has also been sent to media outlets with no response. Please note that many FReepers disagree with me, but that's OK in this forum.
the electric car is coming
Well get ready. The new idea bashers will be along any minute to tell everyone how their addiction to oil is the only way. We must learn that this is a national security issue not preference or the easy way out. Sure it will cost a lot of money, but will save in the long run. Who knows maybe by going to other energy sources the price of oil will plummet and still be useful. Even if it does we should be diligent and build alternative energy methods. We must become flexible so that we can use whatever is cheapest at the time and never become slaves to any one method.
I think a national priority needs to be established with a date certain for energy independence. Could you imagine what the oil producing nations would do if that was announced? They would start pumping and dumping oil on the market at a record rate in order to drive the price down and make our efforts not cost effective. Win-Win no matter what.
“Linkee no workee.”
Here ya go.
Bringing new energy to the debate on our future
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/072708/edi_467111.shtml
Admin. Moderator, please correct the link.
Thanks
>>”I think a national priority needs to be established with a date certain for energy independence.”<<
FMR. VICE PRES. AL GORE: Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean, carbon-free sources within 10 years.
source: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048416/posts
Save us from WHAT??
As far as I can tell, the only things we need SAVED from are RATS, enviro-mentals, and terrorists.
......Carl Pope of the Sierra Club has said. .....
We always knew T.Boone was something of a maverick scoundrel, now we know he is really an enemy.
Fox had an interview with him last night where he confirmed that he is for everything but importing foreign oil. The dumb ass Demorats had him up on capital hill because they thought he was against drilling and nuclear. They are so stupid. Drill Here Drill Now.
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