What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: Glen T. Brock (---.asm.bellsouth.net)
Date: 07-19-08 22:30
Hello folks,
I watched an ABC Nightline segment on Mr. Pickens the other night and it left me wondering what in the hell this man is up to.
The 'plan' in two fold. First, a massive utiliztion of wind power by building modern wind mills across the great plains states. If this can be done by multipurpose use of agricultural land without inteferring with agribusiness the idea would be brilliant. Establishing a new grid by which the delivery of this wind power could be distributed might be a problem. Second, the transition of automobile engines from gasoline to natural gas. Again, a brilliant plan if the delivery of the gas can be developed quickly. Natural Gas is much cheaper than imported oil and the United States has a huge reservoir of it.
Theoretically, all this sounds good. The devil is in the details. Mr. Pickens believes he can solve the problems of distribution in ten years or so. It probably could, with a massive capital investment for developing the grid. With over 70 billion dollars going to OPEC for the importation of oil, with no sign of any let up, this transition might be cheap at any price.
Comments?
Glen T. Brock
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Re: What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-19-08 22:47
You know, Glen, it would be great if something like this worked, if only to see the look of disappointment on the Arab faces when we told them they could shove their bloody oil! No more cash grabs by a bunch of bandits who hate our guts. Bring it on!
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Re: What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: jayce (---.mob.bellsouth.net)
Date: 07-19-08 23:55
So...
If Al Gore proposes it, it's a flakey left wing attempt to subvert the capitalist free-market system.
But if T. Boone proposes it, it's brilliant.
Got it.
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Re: What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: Mark Ellis (---.prvdri.east.verizon.net)
Date: 07-20-08 09:22
It always gets down to ideology, not practicality.
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Re: What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: Glen T. Brock (---.aep.bellsouth.net)
Date: 07-20-08 17:53
Mark,
That's my point, Mark. Mr. Pickens not only has the facts and figures promoting his ideas but he has facts and figures for his solutions as well. T. Boone Pickens isn't a politican, like Al Gore, nor is he neccessarily an idealist. He is a businessman who knows how to make money. Call it yankee ingenuity if you like (even though he is from Texas)but his nuts and bolts approach makes sense to me.
Two big problems face him. Establishing a network of service stations for natural gas presents a huge investment of capital. From what I've seen or read the transition from gasoline to natural gas is relatively easy for the auto manufacturers. That leaves the support system for the engine--natural gas stations. Not only do you have to obtain the sites, either by transferring existing sites or building new ones, but you have to go through the gauntlent of state and federal environmental controls and regulations.
The manufacture of the wind turbines isn't the problem either. The true cost will be in establishing long term leases for the land they will be on. Here, the government could be an ally. By using creative tax credits they might be able to reduce the cost of this acquisition practical.
Anyway, this is the first proposal I've seen that isn't a pipe dream. If Pickens makes another fortune,and I think he will, he will have earned every cent of it.
Glen T. Brock
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Re: What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: Carl Purdon (---.static.networktel.net)
Date: 07-21-08 07:41
In the ad, Mr. Pickens says he's been an oil man all his life. Okay, that's all well and good, but now he owns a wind-farm. This seems to me to be an investment opportunity for him. The cost of building his huge wind-farm, he says, will cost taxpayers $1 trillion. You can bet he wants to be the one the government buys the windmills from...and contracts to install them. After all, it's his idea.
But I see nothing wrong with capitalism. His plan, however, is to move electric power plants from natural gas to wind in order to free up the natural gas for automobiles. Natural gas, he says, is plentiful and cheap. I wonder what will happent to the price when demand skyrockets due to all us drivers needed it in our cars? And if it's so plentiful wouldn't it be better to move the coal plants to wind instead of "clean burning" natural gas?
Me smells a rat.....
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Re: What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: Rogue Mutt (---.uawlsp.com)
Date: 07-21-08 08:35
Everything will be ready in 10 years. Of course they said that 10 years ago and 10 years before that...
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Re: What is T.Boone Pickens up to? |
Author: Beautiful Loser (---.dllstx.fios.verizon.net)
Date: 07-21-08 09:31
What gets me is that even though natural gas is plentiful in Texas, we consumers pay through the nose for same.
What's that tell ya?
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