T. Boone Pickens's Plan: Keep T. Boone Pickens Rich
My friend Tim Carney is much like Sam Dealey—more often wrong than right but always an interesting, thought-provoking read. Tim's take on T. Boone Pickens's energy plan is one of the cases where he is both interesting and (more or less) correct.
Carney makes a good point about the glowing publicity Pickens has gotten as oilman-turned-cowboy environmentalist:
Would a major newspaper editorialize with surprise that "even Kraft Foods says we need to eat more macaroni and cheese"? Would guests on The McLaughlin Group get away with saying that "even Budweiser is lobbying for more beer consumption"?
Then why do talking heads and journalists exclaim with surprise that "even T. Boone Pickens" is lobbying for greater U.S. reliance on wind power? Don't they know he owns the largest wind farm in the world?
Pickens is smart. He's laid out a subtly redemptive story line that appeals to those who would be naturally skeptical of the an oil baron: He's seen the light and is going against type and trying to help the planet and the country.
One thing I've wondered—especially after a number of readers wrote in advocating for the Pickens plan after our pro/con debate on energy independence—is how many people who buy into Pickens's plan would scoff at wild-eyed environmentalism if, say, Al Gore was featured in these ads?
Tags: energy | T. Boone Pickens
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energy conservation
Pickens idea might quickly become passe if the development of solar film technology gets quickly on track. This new technology would create an acceptable aesthetic for roofing homes . It is expected to become very reasonably priced and backed with a 20 year warranty. With tax breaks and credits involved this could become part of a mandated building code much like the mound system. This is the best idea I have seen yet. Wind power is also available in a turbo style, roof mounted version, rather than having a wind mill stuck in your yard. Huge wind mills won't last forever, then what do you do with the tons of concrete that holds them up, the hole in the ground it leaves and the materials they are made of. Each home may soon be capable of having its own energy system and with minimum environmental harm.
If we can avert the worst case scenario, who cares who gets rich?
Here's the simple question: would you bite your nose off to spite your face? In other words, why struggle in the pursuit of a nearly impossible task that would only hurt us and make us look bad in any case? Who cares if Pickens gets richer? Someone is going to! As long as they get rich by not polluting the world and pushing us all into catastrophe while still managing to meet the energy needs of the modern world, as far as I'm concerned let em roll around in big piles of hundies, without even undies! Still... GO OBAMA!
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