Sunday, October 5, 2008
I am sure you have seen the Boone T. Pickens advertisements or the media buzz that follows his plan. Pickens made his billions in natural gas and oil. He is hugely popular and probably the most influential person discussing the need to end our dependence on foreign oil and to seek sustainable energy. His plan, Pickens Plan, details nearly every aspect of our energy crisis; he gives America hope that we can overcome it. It is nearly too good to be true. However, it is definitely not free from imperfections. Pickens wants to make wind power about 20% of America's energy and displace the use of natural gas for car fuel. He says that this will cut nearly $300 billion out of our foreign oil spending. He wants to take advantage of America's wind and create wind farms in the Midwest. I give thumbs up to Pickens for saving America money and placing the money in our country, however, I don't believe natural gas is the best resource. Yes, natural gas is cleaner, it is our second largest natural resource, and millions of cars already run on it. (Information from 3 above sentences taken from video at the bottom of the post). However, I believe that instead of shifting to natural gas we should shift to a more renewable plug in hybrid or electric vehicle. I realize that the cars' "renewability" depends on where the energy is coming from. If we stop buring coal, and rely on wind power, geothermal, solar panels, and maybe nuclear (although not the best) these electric cars will be even more environmentally advantageous. It is not clear to me whether Boone is doing this out of the "goodness of his heart" or because his business relations is linked into his plan. He has huge investments in compressed natural gas, he has a wind power company, and he supplies the most natural gas for fuel usage in the United States. I don't believe that his entire plan should be discredited on the fact that he has business ties into them: it is only human to advance oneself financially (although $3-4 billion seems enough). Boone's wind power company, Mesa Power, plans to build a multimillion dollar 4,000 megawatt wind farm project in Texas. This is one project where I believe Pickens is using his money and influence to greatly help the benefit of American people. Wind farms can help small communities economically, provides clean energy, and is becoming cheaper as more developments are made. Overall, I believe that Picken's Plan can be used to benefit our environment and economy. The rest of Pickens Plan will be discussed in a later blog (especially the pros and cons of his company Mesa Water)
THIS VIDEO DETAILS THE ASPECTS OF HIS PLAN THE BLOG FOCUSES ON
ONE OF HIS ADVERTISEMENT VIDEOS
4 comments:
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I would hope that Pickens is trying to help our nation end our dependency on foriegn oil. Maybe the only way that he thought he could actually incur change would be to have a substantial portion of the market in hand. That way he would become a major influence of things to come. He is already a giant in the natural gas industry so I guess we have to just trust that he is good willed towards Americans. I do have a question though. Does Picken represent a large portion of the industry or is he just a pawn in a bigger field?
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Tommy,
I hadn't read any articles that point to North Dakota's ubiquitous source of wind. Overall, the Midwest has prime space to capture wind flow and can easily distribute it to the both sides of our country. A possible reason for Pickens to put the wind farms in Texas is because he is from Texas and he wants to support his home state, or he may have a more connections/land in Texas. If wind farms grow, I'm confident that they will spread to other states such as North Dakota.
Pickens wants to first start with natural gas (which he has invested in) as 22% of fuel for cars in about 10 years. After that, I hope we can transition to PHEV's or hydrogen power, however, I believe that more research and market analysis needs to be done on these sources.
duckblogger,
you make a good point. I genuinely believe that Boone wants to help America. However, he still should not be free from doubt or others' opinions and advice. As you mention, it is beneficial to have a substantial amount of the market so he can better control it. Pickens is no "pawn" in the industry. He made his billions from oil and has met with both presidential candidates to discus the energy crisis. -
I found your blog very interesting, and I give Pickens props for trying to find a different energy resource. However, I can't help but be skeptical when it comes to this approach. You said that he has made his billions in natural gas, so wouldn’t that give him a lot of power if in fact we utilized this form of energy? Is it safe to end foreign oil dependence to become dependent on Pickens?
Kevin,
I have seen Pickens on television in an advertisement, and I was intrigued by your coverage of his plan. I am slightly puzzled, though, by the wind farm project you mention. My most recent blog, titled "The Earth, Energy, and Politics," shows that Texas has already become the largest producer of wind in the United States. North Dakota seems much more suitable for this wind farm, as the source of my information also states that North Dakota has the most potential wind power that can be harvested. Why did Pickens decide to build his farm in Texas instead on North Dakota?
Your reference to Plug-in Hybrids, or PHEV's, in regards to Pickens' proposal of using natural gas to fuel cars, is very considerate. In fact, my previous blog post ventures into the land of PHEV's in detail, and we seem to agree completely on that subject. Does Pickens support PHEV's? If not, how does Pickens plan to fuel cars on renewable energy?
Tommy