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Posted by FrediFizzx on July 19, 2008, 2:21 am
He will probably be able to pull most of this off. He's invested in
it and that is a good driving force. The man with a plan. Just add a
bunch of solar and it will work.
Fred
> http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20080718_4628.php
>
> Q&A: T. Boone Pickens
> Oil Tycoon Sounds Off On Energy Independence
>
> Fri. Jul 18, 2008
>
> Tammy Haddad spoke with Texas oil magnate T. Boone Pickens for the
> July 18 edition of "National Journal On Air." This is a transcript
> of
> their conversation.
>
> Q: I'm Tammy Haddad. This is "National Journal On Air," and we have
> the man of the hour with us, T. Boone Pickens. Welcome. Mr. Pickens.
>
> Pickens: Thank you, Tammy.
>
> Q: You know, you have really changed the world with your
> conversation
> about wind energy. [PickensPlan.com] is really an incredible Web
> site
> -- these videos, the ads, what you're doing. For those who haven't
> seen it, which means they don't live here in the United States --
> but
> why don't you just give us a quick one minute on how you think you
> have the answer to the energy issue?
>
> Pickens: OK. The problem first: We are paying now $700 billion a
> year
> for foreign oil. We're going to break the country, is what's going
> to
> happen. If we go 10 years at this, and we've been doing it for 40 --
> not at that level, but we have... our imports have gone up from 24
> percent in 1970 to now -- we're almost 70 percent, and by 10 years
> from now, in 2018, we'll be up to 80 percent. It's crazy, we're
> insane
> to do what we're doing.
>
> OK. That's where I'm approaching the problem. Now, when I look at
> the
> solutions -- we only have one natural resource in America that can
> replace foreign oil, and that is natural gas. Natural gas is a
> better
> transportation fuel than gasoline, so if that's the case, it's
> cheaper, it's cleaner and it's a domestic resource. So we have to go
> to natural gas; we don't have any choice if we're going to reduce
> the
> $700 billion. And I think within less than 10 years we could reduce
> that by 30 to 40 percent -- the import of foreign oil.
>
> So you know, when I see it, I see only winners here. And then I fold
> in a wind project to help it all, but you'll get into that on some
> questions here.
>
> Q: Absolutely. In fact, let me ask you about that. Let's start with
> wind, because your own state of Texas yesterday agreed to a $4.9
> billion plan -- now it's new transmission lines. Can you explain the
> transmission lines and how it works with the wind power?
>
> Pickens: Yes, they're going to build -- that's a [unintelligible]
> system, that's our transmission in Texas -- and they're going to
> build
> these lines and extend it into the wind area -- which is up in the
> panhandle of Texas -- which will be very helpful for us.
>
> Q: But how? I mean, if it's such an effective way, why wasn't it
> done
> before?
>
> Pickens: Listen, that is a question you can ask about the problems
> with energy in America. I mean, why wasn't it done before? For 40
> years, Tammy, 40 years, we have had no leadership on energy in this
> country. Can you imagine that we drifted, drifted, drifted like we
> have, and we're so dependent on foreign oil? You know, it's the same
> thing; government moves very slow, as you know, and they are
> reactive
> instead of proactive. Government is not like business and industry
> is.
>
> Q: So business right now has to push and prod governments to get
> into
> this?
>
> Pickens: What we've got to do, is we've got to come up with some
> leadership in Washington that recognizes the problem and you know,
> then has a plan, and they tell us this is what we're going to do,
> because the American people are fed up with this.
>
> From the polling we've done and the response we've had to our
> PickensPlan.com -- we've had over 2 million people come in on that.
> We
> didn't have any idea that there was that much unrest in the country.
> And we've had over 100,000 people come in on our
> PushPickensPlan.com.
> So you know, those are foot soldiers, I mean, they'll march with me,
> and so I'm going to get to know all those people before this is over
> with. But we've got to have leadership come in some place and say,
> this is what is going to happen, otherwise we're going to give the
> country away.
>
> Q: So have you talked to Senator McCain -- or candidate McCain, I
> should ask?
>
> Pickens: No, I haven't talked to the senator. I haven't talked to
> Senator [Barack] Obama, either. I said I'd be glad to sit down with
> both of them, because this is a total nonpartisan issue as far as
> I'm
> concerned.
>
> Q: How about the president? I mean, are you trying to get these big
> people? I mean, the thing that you've done that's extraordinary is
> that you were able -- from the power and the work that you've done
> over the years and the money that you have -- to draw all this
> attention to it. But my question is -- I mean, it's not going to be
> the Energy Department that fixes it -- you've got to get the
> candidates or this president together with you to make these changes
> now.
>
> Pickens: Well, the Energy Department, they did a great study that
> came
> out in April of '07 that the wind corridor -- they evaluated it very
> well -- they said that we could do 20 percent of our power
> generation
> off wind. That was a good plan, but they now say they don't think
> you
> could do it within 10 years. I'm telling you it's got to be done
> within 10 years, and so that's -- again, the Energy Department
> doesn't
> move very fast.
>
> Q: Well, funny you should say 10 years, because another prominent
> citizen, former Vice President Al Gore, yesterday made a speech
> talking about climate change and energy -- some of these issues. And
> he said the same thing -- we've got to deal with this now --
> although
> he has a different plan. Do you want to give us a critique of his
> plan? Do you think he's talking about the right direction?
>
> Pickens: I know it. I know Al's plan. I talked to him last week, and
> we talked for over an hour about energy, and I think both of us have
> the same concerns about the country.
>
> Q: What did he say about your plan, by the way?
>
> Pickens: Al is not big on natural gas. He wants to go to the
> electric
> car, and I think you have to bridge to the electric car, and natural
> gas is ready to go now. We have an abundance of natural gas -- it's
> cheap, it's clean -- so you could put it into the transportation
> fuel
> very fast.
>
> Q: Then why is he against it?
>
> Pickens: Well he doesn't like hydrocarbons, and I know where he
> comes
> from; it's global warming that he's focused on, and I'm more focused
> on the $700 billion figure. So he thinks that, you know, our problem
> is that global warming is going to get us before anything else, and
> I
> think the $700 billion's going to -- you know what I mean. But we're
> in agreement on renewables and everything else; I just don't think
> he's quite there on the natural gas.
>
> Q: So, how about, though, Mr. Pickens, if you and Vice President
> Gore
> go on the road, even though you have different paths. If you go on
> the
> road together -- by the way, the road could be ABC, NBC, CBS; I'm
> not
> saying, you know, to go through Oklahoma, California and all the
> cities -- but if you combined for this message, do you think that
> you
> could have an even greater impact? Why not go on the road together?
>
> Pickens: I think it'd be confusing, because what will happen is Al
> and
> I would be on the first question and they would say, "What do you
> think the transportation fuel should be?" And Al would say, "I think
> it'd be electricity." And I would say, "I think we're ten years away
> from that," and I would say, "natural gas" and then we would talk. I
> think if we're separate and saying 90 percent the same thing, I
> think
> it's two campaigns instead of one combined.
>
> Q: Well, do you think that there should be an energy czar? I mean a
> true energy czar; I don't mean something within the government, a
> commission.
>
> Pickens: Well you know, I think I was the one that came up with that
> idea -- that you should have a czar -- and I told President Bush two
> months ago. I said there should be an energy czar, and I said the
> czar
> should report to the president one time a year. I said the rest of
> the
> time they give him the tools to get the job done and tell him to go
> do
> it.
>
> Q: And what did he say?
>
> Pickens: He listened, he asked some questions, and he said, who do
> you
> think would be a person for that? And I said that I think George
> Patton would be good. Of course George Patton's been dead years.
>
> (laughter)
>
> Q: I was going to say, General Patton?
>
> Pickens: Yeah, but you need somebody like General Patton; you give
> him
> the tools and you say, there's the hill, General, take it -- take
> the
> hill.
>
> Q: Well, if Senator Obama wins, should it be Al Gore?
>
> Pickens: He should what?
>
> Q: If Obama wins the election, should Al Gore go in and be the
> energy
> czar?
>
> Pickens: Well, you know, you asked me a question, I don't know. I
> would certainly not... In that case, I think I would be for Al Gore
> for energy czar.
>
> Q: Well, if Senator McCain wins, would you want to be energy czar?
>
> Pickens: No, I've already said numerous times I'm too old for that
> job. I wouldn't want that at all. I'd be glad to help in any way. I
> don't always have to be the chairman of something. I'm a good foot
> soldier, you know; I'd be glad to work with somebody on it or for
> somebody.
>
> But listen, this thing, I'm dead serious on what I'm talking about.
> This country is -- we are in pitiful shape as far as energy is
> concerned. And the thing about it, where we're getting our energy,
> we're in bad shape. We have plenty of energy right here. What we
> need
> is to get organized and to get a leader that will take us into the
> fight and win the war.
>
> Q: Do you have an opinion on the offshore drilling that's being
> talked
> about in Congress?
>
> Pickens: I've got an opinion on everything. Sure, you ought to do
> OCS
> [Outer Continental Shelf], you ought to do renewables, you ought to
> do
> biofuels, you ought to do ethanol -- all of them. Those are ours,
> and
> we've got to get off the dependency on the foreign oil.
>
> Q: Well, but wait a minute, though, because part of the food crisis
> is
> being blamed on the fact that so much of corn is going towards
> ethanol.
>
> Pickens: OK, don't do it then. I'd rather eat than drive my car.
>
> (laughter)
>
> Q: That's a good line. What about the war in Iraq? I mean, do you
> think that this country has been distracted by the war and foreign
> policy and other issues? Is that how we got so far out of line?
>
> Pickens: No, that doesn't have anything to do with energy. I mean
> the
> energy started back in -- the problem is when we first started
> importing, and the reason we've got into the problem on energy, very
> simply on the oil, was that it was cheap. It was the cheapest way.
>
> I mean, look at this, Tammy -- on natural gas -- there are 8 million
> vehicles in the world on natural gas. I mean, this is a technology
> that is well-known. The biggest fleet of buses in the world is
> Beijing
> on natural gas -- over 4,000 buses. I visited Beijing Transit last
> year; I was in China and spent several hours over at Beijing
> Transit.
> I mean, the technology -- everybody knows the technology. And out of
> the 8 million vehicles in the United States, we only have 142,000.
> Why? Why? I can tell you why, because oil was so cheap. And we sat
> here and said send us the oil, never mind the price. And then one
> day
> it went vertical, and when it did everybody said, whoa, that isn't
> what I signed up for. And so then everybody started looking.
>
> Now, from our polling and everything else, the American people know
> something is wrong. They are now saying drill in the OCS -- I saw
> over
> 70 percent said you should drill in the OCS; we've got to do
> something
> about this foreign oil. That is true, you've got to do something
> about
> it, and it's a crash program that has to take place like today, not
> tomorrow.
>
> Q: So Mr. Pickens, you've now got these foot soldiers -- which by
> the
> way is feeling like another Texan I used to know, Ross Perot -- what
> are you going to do with all these foot soldiers?
>
> Pickens: Oh, we're in communication and we're going to work
> together;
> we're in lockstep. You watch what happens, because you know, we
> approved a $58 million budget for this project, and that is going to
> take us till the first of the year. And then we'll look and see if
> we
> want to budget for next year. But you're going to get one wave of
> this
> and then another wave; we've got another wave coming up next week.
>
> Q: Well, we'll be looking forward to it. T. Boone Pickens, always a
> pleasure to talk to you.
>
> Pickens: Thank you, Tammy.
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