Frack it, I'm voting for T. Boone.

Saw Spook mention it a couple days, and finally read up on it today. Even if it's not the perfect plan, or your may want to quibble with this point or that point of it, let's remember the age old military axiom -- a good plan executed well immediately is better then a perfect plan finished too late.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-07-08-t-boone-pickens-plan-wind-energy_N.htm

http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/

That's the moonshot folks.

In a paragraph:

Let's build a line of windmills across the high great plains that is capable of generating 20% of our nation's electrical need, and take the natural gas now providing that 20% of our electricity and instead use it to power our cars. And have it completed in 10 years.

Ok, yes part of it is T. Boone Pickens wants his tax breaks...and no tax breaks are not good public policy. They interfere with the market in many ways, often unexpectedly and unplanned.

But the government does have a critical, and important, role to play in big infrastructure projects. Ranging from emminent domain powers to build public utility works like power transmission lines, to fast tracking regulatory approvals of new car models using CNG.

I'm an unrepentant supporter of nuclear, but with the combination of high plains winds and the long distance capability of High Voltage DC transmission which can get power to either coast I think you can see wind take over 20% of our energy needs faster then you could ever see nuclear double to 40%. Their environmental footprint is relatively small -- you can still farm and ranch around them for the most part, and certainly they don't pave over large blocks of land like some of the recent solar proposals do.

Other parts of a new energy plan -- from conservation, to plugin hybrids, to domestic oil drilling are important too. Renovation, expansion, and electrification of our railroad network is another big and worthwhile project. Expand nuclear too, taking the coal saved and selling it to China. China uses twice as much coal as we do and has only one quarter as much in the ground.

But this is the single, simple, big, bold plan that's both transformative and will goose American manufacturing like nothing we've seen in years. The boom of Reagan's military build up comes to mind, but military spending doesn't leave a lasting economic improvement -- this does by reducing our trade deficit. Suddenly several hundred billion dollars a year going to third world dictators instead is paying wages to Americans in good paying jobs...who in turn are spending it in this nation and saving and investing it too.

It doesn't need government to run the program or finance it. But it does need government help to overcome obstacles, and to make sure regulatory approvals are done fairly but quickly. No matter your politics, this is needed and needed yesterday -- for the economics of it, for the confidence in our future it would suddenly give people, for the tax revenue that's needed to pay down the debt.

Commit to projects like this and rebuilding the railroads on a timeline of 10 years or less and watch a lot of today's market troubles disappear in a few weeks. You hear the President always give the State of Union as, "strong." And truly it is, despite our momentary gloom from time to time. No nation matches us in the combined quality and quantity of agricultural land, our fresh water supplies are inexhaustible, no one has more coal, we have large reserves of natural gas, and new discoveries of fossil and non-fossil fuels like methane hydrate are likely in the coming years. The incredible richness of our lands that we've enjoyed and that have built this nation remain very rich. There are reasons for our malaise today, but there is no reason to be pessimistic about the future.

It's the moonshot. And it's time we start the countdown.

I also saw that T. Boone was investing in wind farms. I agree with you that the Government needs to get the ball rolling to start Big projects, like another Hoover dam, or several Nuke electric plants. But.....Uncle Sam is very inept at doing anything correctly, just look at Immigration-fixing the roads-comprehensive energy plan-drilling off our own shores for oil-the collapse of the dollar-wasting Billions on nonsense-wasting billions on foreign nations that cant/wont repay.
With that said I wouldnt sell China 1 pound of OUR coal, we need it for the long term. Instead of selling them coal we should sell them condoms to lower their population.
It would be awesome for the US Government to invest Billions in our country in new Hydroelectric plants, Bridge reconstruction, New Nuke plants for electric generation and hybrid cars/trucks.
Sounds great- but Uncle Sam is better at wasting time and resources and paying lip service instead of doing what is best in the long term.
The politicians are too busy getting themselves reelected to waste time on important stuff.

Windmills sound like an incrdible idea in Nebraska.

Perhaps Allan in NE can get a little bit of money for havin' windmills spring up on his place, lol.

I'm interested in solar power, i.e., rooftop solar power ASSISTING devices. They are expensive though... BUTTTTT... I DID hear that solar technologies inc., created low cost solar cells, so we'll see in a few years...


THEN AGAIN....

they've ALWAYS said "in a few years", and nothing's really different.

With Interstate Highways crisscrossing America, put windmills right down the medians. Shingle roofs with solar cells. We can get a good start on powering America with little or no wasted space.

You don't need the Federal Government directly investing, nor should we (that's just inflationary since they'd print more money to do it).

But you do need their involvement -- establish the right-of-ways transmission lines will follow and authorize the use of emminent domain to build them; to work with utility regulators to make sure the mix of power plants being built is a good mix; possibly even do interest guarantees on the loans. Not unlike the building of our railroad network in the 19th century when those private enterprises received extensive assistance -- ranging from the use of emminent domain, allowing private railroad police, government guarantees of the interest (not principal) of railroad bonds. In exchange the railroads were regulated. It may not have always been the ideal, perfect system but it worked well enough.

This is perfect example of where public and private interests intersect in making emminent domain necessary for private projects -- we simply couldn't move forward with our economy if big, long infrastructure like power transmission lines, gas pipelines, railroads and the like had to be routed around every property owner who didn't want to take fair market value. They are no different from 19th century's building of with private money of canals and turnpikes; while privately owned they are of overwhelming public necessity.

This is the type of bold, audacious plan the nation needs, not the words of non-specific hope spun by a politician. Let's make the private investment of a trillion dollars into wind energy and natural gas powered cars happen. Let's make the private investments in improving and expanding our freight and passenger railroads happen. Heck, let's spend some gas tax money and improve our interchanges and widen the interstates to get rid of the bottlenecks out there. These are the things that will employ millions of Americans in good paying jobs, improve our economic efficiency, reduce our trade deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars if not outright eliminate it.

Let's get America investing in building bold things again!

I disagree with Mr. Pickens that we can't drill out way out of this mess.

With a blitz of new drilling and new refineries, the speculators will begin bidding down contracts immediately, so that woul dhelp in the short term.

Open Alaska, South Dakota, off-shore, and the shale and tar oil out West, that will take care of the long term.

I'm all for renewables, I just haven't seent the science that tells me feasible, reliable, and efficient enough.

Nukes for 90% or more of our electicity would be fine with me. Leaves coal to be processed for coal oil we could add to oil supplies.

I'm also for hydrogen cells and anything else that will work, but those technologies are still years away.

I, respectfully, don't trust T. Boone one bit. He's got a country name and a southern drawl, but that doesn't make him honest. He's 100% about the $$ for himself.

We Have a couple of wind farms in our area. I have worked hauling gravel and dirt to build these farms. When you see the amount of fuel used to build these you will be convinced they will never payback the energy used to build them.

Now don't get me wrong, I support alternative energy as much as anybody else, but we will never be able to rely on it in my lifetime. Now is the time to start developing new technologies so maybe in 20-30 years they are reliable sources of energy. We just need to do something now.

The economy runs on oil. Like it or not. My Greatgrand children's gandchildren will still be using oil.

I really support nuclear and any other viable energy source. It will just take many years to develope new sources of energy. Our country and others are dependant on oil now and will be for many years.

Conservation will not fix the problem. We actually have enough crude oil to satisfy demands. What we don't have is the refining capacity. We need to build more refineries now.
The infrastructure is already in place for oil based fuels. We just need more available for use.

Matt from CT - You are "right on" in your posts. This is "still" a great country. We (USA) have some problems - as does every country in the world. Band aid fixes of "crises management" rarely solves anything. When a crisis appears, time is never on our side. But, by starting the solutions to our long term problems (energy as one) "now" we would immediatly start receiving benefits (overall economy, unemployment, tax revenues, etc.) to a lot of our current problems.

I too have some positive ideas to kick around to solve some of our current problems while we address our long term problems. I will not bore you (and others on the forum) with them now. Please keep trying to get your message out to others. bob farrell

I like your ideas the best.

Heres my ideas for starting anyhow:more nuke power,more coal burning, but cleaner,more wind power [as in europe],Solar panels mandatory on all public projects,stop waste like malls and restaurants running pump motors for display fountains[just cause you have money to burn doesnt mean you should have a right to waste energy,although you do in a free market].Bring back drivers education and motorcycle training for all HS kids.Eat corn instead of burning it.Street legal ATV type vehicles.Stop ripping up rail track for hiking trails[this is unbeleivable to me].Steam cars[just kidding].

Last night I was pondering, a dangerous thing, how you would build a truly high speed rail line in the northeast, one of the few areas in the country that can justify European class trains.

Thinking of Connecticut, but I suspect it's true for most of the length, the easiest way I can think of for most of it is right down the middle of I-95. Put in north and south bound tracks, while you're relocating roadway a bit anyway add extra lanes and build better designed interchanges while you're at it. The current Amtrak / MetroNorth tracks can remain for what they do well, which is commuter rail

It seems America has all the tools to solve our energy problems from Nuclear power to solar power to a dozen diffent alternate energy sources. What we don't have and haven't had are past presidents and congresses that knows how to use these tools. What we need is an energy czar to develope a time line with goals and objectives that will give us an increasing supply of energies. There are brilliant people in this country who have the ideas to solve this problem but who do not have the power. I believe our only hope is to get a president who has the leadership ability to guide us to energy independence. Congress in my opinion is for the most part incompetent. This needs to be a priority item as was the "Manhatten Project" or the "man on the moon" program.

I like your comment on windmills in the median of the interstates but people cant stay in the lanes now so give them some windmills to run into. Just imagine the constuction mess that would be.

Well you're right about the bad drivers but there can be barriers built to with stand it. They run I75 north and south right next to each other in Atlanta GA with a barrier between.