Yuku free message boards

Stop Sending $700 Billion To The Mideast, Russia, and Venezuela

Did You Know

… that for more than 35 years, every President has promised to "make the US energy independent," but over that same period, we went from importing 24% of our oil to importing almost 70%?

Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush each meant it when they said it, but because oil was cheap, it was easier to kick the problem down the road. Over the past year, however, when worldwide demand began to exceed worldwide production, the price of oil has gone up and now has everyone's attention.

… that the Pickens Plan creates economic activity, particularly in rural America?

Sweetwater, Texas was typical of many small towns in middle-America. With a shortage of good jobs, the young people were leaving in search of better jobs. The town's population dropped from 12,000 to under 10,000.

When a large wind power facility was built outside of town, Sweetwater experienced a revival. New economic opportunity brought the town back to life and the population has grown back up to 12,000. Not only that, but nearly a quarter of all the jobs in Sweetwater are connected to the wind farms.

The "wind corridor" in the United States runs from West Texas all the way to the Canadian border east of the Rocky Mountains. In addition to creating new local jobs, thousands of Americans in other parts of the country will manufacture the turbines and blades and help build and maintain the transmission facilities. These are good, high paying jobs here in the US.

… that wind turbines have little or no influence on agriculture?

Compared to the size of land on which they will sit, wind turbines have minimal impact on the land. They don't interfere with farming and grazing, so they don't threaten food production or existing local economies. Farms will continue to operate in normal fashion. In addition to putting food on American tables, farmers will also produce the power needed to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Farmers lease their land to the wind generation companies just the same way as they would have a lease for the oil and gas UNDER their property. This is extra income with no adverse environmental impact.

…that the Pickens Plan does not oppose additional drilling in the U.S.?

In order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we must use all of our available domestic resources. We will eventually need everything that we can produce in this country, whether it is new sources of domestic oil, additional natural gas, coal, nuclear or renewable fuels to replace imported oil and stop shipping dollars overseas.

But remember - we are importing 12 million barrels of oil each day. There is not enough oil left in the Outer Continental Shelf, off the East and West Coasts, and in Alaska combined to make up that oil deficit.

… that natural gas is cheaper, more abundant and is an America resource to cover us until a more permanent solution to our transportation needs is developed?

More than 70% of US imported oil is used in transportation. Of all of the domestic energy resources available (domestic oil, natural gas, nuclear, coal, wind, solar, hydro, geo-thermal and bio fuels), only natural gas is easily used as a transportation fuel today. It is significantly less expensive than gasoline or diesel with prices in the range of $1.50 a gallon.

Electric cars like the General Motors "Volt" use battery power, but they are light-duty vehicles. You can't run a Semi on battery power.

…that Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) are already in wide use?

Using natural gas for transportation is not a new idea; it is a proven technology. Public transportation across the country has been using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for decades. Currently, approximately 20% of public transit buses in the U.S. run on CNG.

There are approximately 8.7 million NGVs worldwide and that number is growing rapidly. But, there are only about 143,000 in the United States. There are numerous manufacturers of natural gas vehicles for the world market, including Ford, Honda and General Motors, which, alone, makes 19 different models of CNG vehicles, but none in America.

…that the Pickens Plan does not depend on your family vehicle to succeed?

It is not family automobiles which will make the biggest, fastest impact. Of all the oil used for transportation, 38% is used by fleet vehicles - trucks, buses, municipal and utility vehicles.

About one out of every three barrels of imported oil goes into the manufacture of diesel fuel for tractor-trailers to move goods around the country. If, over the next decade, trucking companies large and small replaced their diesel vehicles with trucks running on either Compressed or Liquified Natural Gas, we would very nearly meet our goal of cutting oil imports by 30% right there.

We need to start with the largest fleets and then move into Main Street America. It will take some time but standing still and continuing down the imported oil path is not a realistic option.

…that Natural Gas Vehicles are safe?

You probably use natural gas in your home for cooking, heating, hot water, etc. If it's safe for use inside your home, it is safe to use to power a vehicle.

Federally mandated tests, including collision, fire and high pressure tests prove that natural gas vehicles are safe. Unlike gasoline which can spill and remain on the ground at an accident scene, natural gas quickly dissipates as it is lighter than air. Natural gas has an ignition temperature double that of gasoline so accidental fire is unlikely.

…that we have plenty of natural gas to do this?

Natural gas is our country's second largest energy resource (behind coal) and a vital component of our energy supply-98% of the natural gas used in the United States is from North America.

Domestic natural gas reserves are twice that of petroleum, and new discoveries of natural gas and ongoing development of renewable biogas are continually adding to existing reserves. Largely because of improved drilling technology, our reserves have doubled over the last five years and are expected to double again in the next five.

A recent study released by the American Clean Skies Foundation indicates that we have enough natural gas to last more than 100 years.

…that Natural Gas burns significantly cleaner than gas or diesel?

Natural gas is the cleanest transportation fuel in widespread use today today. According to the California Energy Commission, greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas are 23% lower than diesel and 30% lower than gasoline. In fact, the natural gas Honda Civic GX-which is assembled in Ohio-is rated as the cleanest production vehicle in the world. You can learn more about this car by clicking here.

…that the wind doesn't always blow?

Of course we all know that the wind doesn't blow all the time in every place! Small-scale wind farms are susceptible to periods of low production because of lack of wind. But what the Pickens Plan proposes is a series of wind farms that would stretch from Texas to Canada, over 1,500 miles long.

Research shows that this corridor has the most consistent winds anywhere in the country. It's what makes us the Saudi Arabia of wind.

While it is possible that some areas in this corridor may not have optimal wind conditions at any one time, it is highly unlikely that large portions would be idle at the same time.

That is the reason that the Pickens Plan doesn't propose to completely eliminate natural gas for power generation. It will be needed to augment periods of peak demand.

…that Congress has an important role in making the Pickens Plan a reality?

There are three important roles for Congress.

First - they need to extend the renewable Production Tax Credit (PTC) for 10 years instead of two. This will cost about $15 billion a year (which is nothing compared to the $700 billion we pay for imported oil) but will give manufacturers the opportunity to do long-range planning and investment.

Second - we need to have new transmission corridors to bring the power from the wind corridor to the cities where it is needed most. When President Dwight Eisenhower called for the building of the interstate highway system in 1956, it moved quickly.

If the government commits to modernizing our nation's power grid in the same fashion that we modernized our highways, we can make some serious progress in a relatively short time.

Finally - the federal government has a fleet of over 200,000 vehicles. The government should take the lead and mandate all new federal government fleet vehicles use natural gas as their fuel. Because the fuel is cheaper than gasoline, they would immediately start saving taxpayer money and have a positive impact on the environment.

…that Boone Pickens is not in this for the money??

As Boone has said in town hall meetings:

"I'm 80 years old and have more money than I will ever need. I've given nearly $700 million to various charities.

"All of the proceeds from my book, "The First Billion is the Hardest" go to the Brook Army Medical Center and the Fisher House where the families of severely wounded soldiers can come and live to be near their loved ones while they recuperate.

"This isn't for me. This is for my - and your - children and grandchildren. We are at a unique crossroads where we have the ability to confront this problem head on and do something that is critical for the future of our country."