Wednesday, April 8, 2009
T. Boone Pickens will speak about the Pickens Plan at a town hall-style meeting today at 4:30 p.m. in the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
According to the Pickens Plan Web site, www.pickensplan.com, the plan aims to end foreign oil dependence by increasing wind, solar and natural gas production in the U.S. Pickens said that since the plan kicked off in July of 2008, he had visited more than 20 city halls. About half of those visits involved college campuses.
Video
Today, T. Boone Pickens visited the Dole Institute of Politics to talk about his plans for the use of wind energy, or his "Pickens' Plan." Part of his reason for the plan was to decrease U.S. dependency on foreign oil.
“We haven’t had a real energy plan in 40 years, and I want to get everybody on board,” Pickens said.
In addition to visiting town halls to gather support, Pickens instituted a virtual march on Washington through his Web site from April 1 to April 3. Nearly 5 million people submitted online requests to Congress to take note of the Pickens Plan.
“We’re applying grassroots pressure and I think that’s somewhat unusual,” Pickens said. “If we’re going to do it, it’s going to happen for all the right reasons.”
In a video blog on the Web site, Pickens said that in the month of March, the U.S. imported 386 million barrels of oil. The oil cost the U.S. $18 billion and accounted for 65 percent of the oil used in the U.S. that month.
Pickens said his plan came in two parts and outlined the need for drastic change in the way the U.S. was fueled in the next 10 to 20 years. He said the first part of his plan addressed the need for renewable forms of energy.
“This is what we took to the Obama transition team, that we would have wind, solar and a 21st-century grid to go along with it, what we call a smart grid,” Pickens said. “And now that’s pretty much in place.”
Pickens said the next installment of his plan was to have natural gas and domestic fuel reduce the consumption of foreign oil. On April 1, Pickens presented the Natural Gas Act of 2009, which emphasized the importance of using natural gas as transportation fuel.
“We’re progressing right on track,” Pickens said. “The plan is holding together.”
Ryan Wing, San Jose, Calif., junior, said he researched the Pickens Plan but wanted to learn more from Pickens in person.
“I’m interested to see how he presents it with the current economic climate and if he has any adaptations to it because of that,” Wing said. “I know he’s having trouble finding funding for the wind project given the climate, so it will be interesting to hear that.”
Wing said he thought the proposal was interesting because Pickens was a successful oil business man.
“Clearly it benefits him, but I think he has an interest in making renewable and sustainable energy economically viable,” Wing said.
Chelsea Mertz, Topeka junior, organized a discussion panel that will meet at the Dole Institute after the conclusion of Pickens’ speech. Like Wing, she said she looked forward to hearing how the economy played a part in Pickens’ plan.
“So often the criticism for sustainable or environmentally friendly things is the economic aspect of it, if it’s feasible,” Mertz said. “But with Pickens, he’s creating something to show that this is the wave of the future and this is the way we need to go. He sets an important example.”
The panel will consist of City Commissioner Dennis “Boog” Highberger, Sen. Marci Francisco (D-Lawrence), Rep. Tom Sloan (R-Lawrence) and Susan Kang, assistant secretary for policy and external affairs with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Wing said that whether the Pickens Plan worked in the long run or not, it was important that renewable and sustainable energy proposals continued to be presented to the public.
“If multiple people have multiple plans, we’re likely to have a solution,” Wing said.
— — Edited by Brandy Entsminger
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Comments
Pickens to discuss energy plan
I tried asking Mr. Pickens a question about what would happen when the price of natural gas went up because people were using it to power their vehicles...
he didn't give me a very good answer.
Pickens to discuss energy plan
You have a good news story, but your spin is misleading. Don't spin wind energy as a technological endeavor that is too weak to meet current energy demands.
Your are a very good reporter, but you're developing tunnel vision. The main problem is that the legislative statutes for energy efficiency in the state of Kansas have not been passed by the state yet.
The worst thing for a green revolution is politics. And that's what the coal debate is: the worst thing for Kansas.
Pickens to discuss energy plan
damnit, sorry, i thought your were the reporter for kujh news story attached to this article
sorry
Pickens to discuss energy plan
sorry amanda - my first comments have nothing to do with you
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