T. Boone Pickens' Next Project: "Selling Water He Doesn't Own"

Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens is about to make a killing by selling water he doesn't own. As he does it, it will be praised as a planet-friendly wind project. After he pulls it off, the media will deride it as craven capitalism. In truth, it is one the most audacious examples of politics for profit, showing how big government helps the biggest business steal from the rest of us. The plotline behind Pickens' water-and-wind scheme is almost too rich to believe. If it were a movie script, reviewers would dismiss it as over-the-top.

The basic story amounts to this: Pickens, thanks to favors from state lawmakers whose campaigns he funded, has created a new government whose only voters are two of his employers; this has empowered Pickens to more cheaply pump water from an aquifer and, by use of eminent domain, seize land across 11 counties in order to pipe the water to Dallas. To win environmentalist approval of this hardly "sustainable" practice, he has piggybacked this water project onto a windmill project pitched as an alternative to oil.

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Comments

[peterlong]

Mr. Pickens might have been talking with that lying thief from Alaska. I think with all the profit he's made & is still raking in, he's in the process of purchasing the spiritual version of the "Bridge To Nowhere"; the Bridge to nowhere but Satan's flaming Hell. I would hope that his soul, if he still possesses it, would learn about the incredible evil that's associated with being a billionaire. He might research how to possibly fit a camel through a needle's eye, if he's hoping for a positive future. - "....it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." - Now I'm not religious in that way, but that sentence speaks truth about greed. I believe we all pay for what we do. If TBP's obsession & lust for imaginary wealth, money, is so great, that he cannot see the suffering caused by it, then saying he'll have a rude awakening is an understatement. Hopefully, the US population, that is living so comfortable due to capitalism, the bleeding of natures resources, the enslaving of countless people in the financially poorer parts of the world, the indirect & direct murder of those who get in the way, can one day feel some empathy and liability for the dream they live in. What comes around, goes around. I'm glad I'm not T

[doesitexplode]

I'm not quite sure why you call this Pickens' "Next" project, Mr. Barney. I come from the area where the water is being sold, and this has been going on for around a decade. In fact, my grandparents are some of the people he has convinced to sell the water under their lands. The rest of us in the Panhandle have been fighting him for years, in and out of courts, and his reputation in Amarillo and the surrounding areas is that of a Robber-Baron. He cares only for money. The HuffPost bloggers who have been proclaiming him as some sort of green capitalist have not been doing their research. In fact when I first saw an article about him appear on the site, I assumed they'd mention his reputation, but instead they simply bowed before his apparent beneficence. Thanks for mentioning his dark side, but please, get your facts right.

[GerryS]

shades of ENRON-

[Rule Of Law]

When oil really does run out--and it will someday, but just when no one can say with certainty--I can walk or bike or use solar, any number of things to move myself from place to place. But when the water is gone, or worse, controlled by soulless hypocrites like Pickens or the huge international water companies that have ruined the economies of so many third world countries while killing people with their policies, I have no options. We must all have water to live. Without it we die. Period. Oil is optional in the long run. Water, and survival, are not.

It is time that water be made the property of the People of the United States of America, treated as the right we should all share and the national security risk that it threatens to become.

[javaman]

I have been saying all along to never trust bonehead pickens. It's all about him and his money, nothing ever to do with "saving the planet". It has always been about natural gas and water. If anyone of the mouth breathers on here did any real checking or heavens forbid research into the mofo, you would have seen his "message" had nothing to do with wind.

let me know when he builds his first wind farm, I'm sooooooooooooooo holding my breath.

[RightWingMarine]

So because Pickens stands to make a profit then anything good that might come about along with that is bad? Why would Pickens want to go through all the trouble and spending of money unless he could get a return? Does calling him names make your point more valid?

[pvernier]

Right,
As much as one may dislike what corporations do. Profit is the best and fastest motivator of innovation. And it is earned versus the government handing out incentives to do certain things like R&D. Many times getting the hand outs becomes the business and we never see the innovation.

[RightWingMarine]

If we were to end all welfare in this country (corporate and to individuals) and end all subsidies this wouldn't be a problem. Don't bemoan the plight of the environment and demand regulations to protect it and subsidies to aid it and then complain when someone finds a means of taking advantage of the rules you had implemented.

[cj124]

i believe it is my tax money and i would prefer it to be used in ways to better the human race not destroy it , since the only thing usa can manufacture are bombs and military equip. and therefore start much needed wars in order to justify such, it's not welfare or programs that aim to help the less fortunate in this country that is destroying us, it's the self centered greed, it's destroying us like we have used it to destroy third world nations in order to rape their resources. have a nice day cj124

[TN]

Thanks T-Boone for letting every ignorant republican voter that we can't drill ourselves out of this mess. You did what the democrats could not do and I thank you. I notice you took that ad down and have another one because you are a republican. T-Boone if you think your going to get subsidies from the taxpayers think again. We will buy the land and own the windmills before we give you our money.

[MyTake]

Someone should introduce this clown the hydrogen fuel cell concept.

If he took one of his wind generators and powered an electrolysis unit, he could then sell hydrogen gas as energy.

This parasite on the rear end of society is one of many that has polluted this planet with their never ending scams.

Hell, Buffet just took Gates up to the Alberta tar sands to look over the most polluting process on the planet. They should have taken Pickens with them and we could have hoped that their private jet went down over one of those massive toxic tailings ponds!

[OneTop]

Dreams are healthy .... :)

[bikerdude]

I meant Pickens....

[bikerdude]

Donnie Trump calls it the "art" of the deal. There is a reason Pickins is a billionaire and most of the rest of us aren't. He's in this for the money and anyone dealing with him must be able to protect themselves... That's how capitalism works...
What we really have to watch are the greedy bastards who will try to ride on his coat tails to get a piece of his deal...

[2lib4oh]

Actually this is how corrupt capitalism works. I am not against capitalism, but this guys ethics are clearly questionable.He practices a form of blackmail called "greenmail".
Its when you threaten to buy out a company's stock, throw out the CEOs and take over the company. They pay this guy to go away. He doesn't have to do anything!Just take your money and go away, they say.

Crony capitalism is not patriotic or good for the country.We have seen enough of this
in Halliburton and Enron. We have our robber-barrons.This is nothing new.Just Republican business ethics at work.

Lack of oversight and accountability are the reason it exits.Obama has promised to bring back accountability into business practices. Lets hope he means it.

[fleaba]

Is there an echo in here? Didn't John McCain decide he was going to steal more water from Colorado for his Arizona constituants? What's up with these guys...when you talk like that you lose, big time, on both sides of the aisle.

[NoSandwiches]

wow.
It seemed so odd that this man would be selling us a story of coming together to solve the energy crisis, and now we know why.

However.

It still is a good idea on the wind farm, and takes someone with money to sell the idea.

Can we find a way to have our cake and eat it too wtihout letting this man put sawdust in the cake?

[crazylikeafox]

I am so tired of people backing these crooks. If Texans let this happen they deserve to go to the tap and have to pay an arm and a leg for water to come out.

[BigBagel]

They deserve it for giving us "W".

[doesitexplode]

trust me, we aren't so much "letting" this happen as having it forced on us. the areas pickens is selling the water from are not very densely populated, and the people there have no idea how to fight a huge corporation. they tried in courts and lost badly.

[filo]

I have a bridge I can sell you folks. It's conveniently located in Brooklyn. Needs some work but I can let it go for a song.

[CAPTAINSKIPPY]

Mr. Pickens has learned to paraphrase Pres. Reagan thusly: "I'm from the oil business and a lifelong private investor, and I'm here to help you."

[kae]

"If you are going out of business, you don't go down with the ship, you get another ship. For us, it's natural gas." -- T. Boone Pickens

http://www.alternet.org/environment/95471/why_t._boone_pickens%27_%27clean_energy%27_plan_is_a_ponzi_scheme/