Now Is The Time: Pass the NAT GAS Act
I've always said that the most important quality of a good leader is that you've got to be willing to make a decision. Too often, people fall victim to what I call the "ready-aim-aim-aim-aim" syndrome. Everything has got to be absolutely perfect. The truth is sometimes you've got to be willing to pull the trigger. Only afterward does it become apparent that the time was right.
Yesterday, I witnessed what leadership is all about firsthand. My good friends, Senators Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch, signed on as cosponsors of Senator Robert Menendez's new bill: the NAT GAS Act. This is one of the most important pieces of legislation to be introduced in the Senate over the last 40 years. It goes right to the heart of the question I've been asking since I launched the Pickens Plan a year ago on July 8:
When are we going to put in place the energy plan this country needs and deserves?
Now is the time.
The NAT GAS Act will extend and increase tax credits for natural gas vehicles and refueling. It will help encourage the development of natural gas vehicles, a much needed step for our beleaguered auto industry. NAT GAS will also save consumers thousands of dollars on fuel costs and protect our environment by utilizing cleaner burning natural gas.
This bill is the only way I know to quickly and effectively reduce our dependence on foreign oil. No other fuel can replace diesel and power a big semi or a garbage truck, including batteries. For too long, our dependence on foreign oil has been one of the leading factors influencing American foreign policy. If we can eliminate that issue by using our enormous domestic natural gas resources, I am confident that it will benefit our national security, our economy, and the environment.
As I have said many times before, natural gas is cleaner, cheaper, it's abundant, and it's American. That's why Senator Menendez's bill enjoys exceptional bipartisan support, starting at the top with Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch. The House version, which was introduced by Dan Boren, John Sullivan, and John Larson, now has a total of 71 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. We're pulling together on this one. Not as Democrats. Not as Republicans. But as Americans.
For almost four decades, this country has been floundering without an energy plan. Is now the best time to put one in place? No. The best time to do that was back in the 1970s when we were importing a small fraction of our crude from overseas. But as these leaders are demonstrating, now is the right time.
Follow T. Boone Pickens on Twitter: www.twitter.com/boonepickens
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I really do appreciate Mr. Pickens and I think he is definitely on the right track. The benefits of using our own energy are untold. He brings to mind only a few. But he says something that is unsettling.
What Mr. Pickens is asking for is a Tax Credit. And I can't understand why this form of government aid/subsidy is needed.
For less than the cost of a football stadium in Oklahoma, a large part of Oklahoma and Texas could be converted to natural gas. But get ready for Texas to start taxing the gas to an equivalent greater than the tax of 38+ cents per gallon on gasoline. We can't let that go untaxed. It would be un-American.
SamHatTO
The wealth of the man should have no bearing on the availability of a tax credit. The tax policy is driven by the program objectives. If Mr. P can get this country to use more NG, bless him. We have a huge reserve of NG and should use as much as possible. If the developers receive a tax credit, good for them. It is call capitalism. The greening effect of NG can happen now; batteries, wind, solar and other developing technologies will not have a meaningful impact for years.
BTW, clean diesel and current engine technology provides a 30% increase in MPG vs. gas, and 50% vs. ethanol. Sure we need to get off imports, but a 20%-30% decrease is a good place to start. When are you lefties going to understand that a combined effort across available technologies, as a prelude to developing technologies, will lead to independence. Please put aside the political dogma for a minute and do what is right for America.
Mr. Pickens earned his fortune as an entrepreneur, all risks included. If he wants to build 10 football stadiums..
This was so simple,and Obama got it all wrong.....
What we need is an “Act” to protect the consumers from the Vultures.
I don't trust this man.
You should. His energy methods are sound. And yes, he will make a bunch of money. Good for him.
Neither do I..He sponsored Swift Boat ads by donating millions to their disgraceful campaign. .The lies he paid for to destroy John Kerrry tells me all I need to to know about Pickens character.
Amen Mr. Pickens. NG is just part of our independence from foreign oil and march to cleaner energies but it is an important part and should not be looked on as a permanent solution but as a 10-15 year bridge.
It would also provide millions of jobs in NG producing states, which are quite a few, as well as around the nation with none of it going to foreign countries.
NG will not provide millions of jobs. That is simply not true. It is not a labor intensive industry.
As a matter of fact, a Chinese company providing NG rigs in Western Colorado was going to require that Chinese workers be used on them. The locals put a stop to that.
As it is now, the "man camps" for imported labor are more of a nuisance and a cost to the communities.
Sorry - It's hard to believe you. I have never seen a chinese rig with chinese workers and if they do exist then they are very few. The vast majority are Cactus, Nabors, Unit, H&P and the like which are all built in the USA with 90% of their workers being from the same.
LOL - I don't believe that we'll have to be worried about being overrun with Chinese rigs and rig workers any time soon.
Nat Gas is a cleaner fuel than Oil the same as Cocaine is a cleaner drug than Crack. Your plan is like placing a bandaid on a gunshot wound. It may help for a minute but it won't stop you from bleeding to death.
But there's money in them there band-aids.
Natural gas is a much cleaner burning fuel than oil based fuels as is propane. As important to me however is that it is here in this country and not foreign. Wind and solar is obviously much cleaner but it will be a long time before they are able to take up the slack. NG is here now - it comes out of the ground and it is ready to go.
Just what kind of fuel do you think we should rely on as a bridge to cleaner energy. I would really like to know.
...and when you've consumed the available gas reserves in the U.S., where will you go to get natural gas? Please tell...
Pickens is right. His facts are ontrack. He as decide to his money into what is a very logical investment for America. Yes, he will make money, but his choices are the better options America can take. He does not want a loser such as Hydrogen cars.
Most people do not care to understand all the factors in transportation costs. Natural gas is really the only cheap long term option for Trucks. Semi-trucks cannot go electric. It is all about weight. You cannot build batteries that moves the huge tonnage down the road.
Pickens understands that natural gas is a smart move for truckers. The cost in diesel fuel from oil is way more than for gas in cars. It is the best investment option if an alternative energy sourse is to succeed.
You see, Pickens can make good investment choices other than oil. He also knows wind energy is a cheap energy source that works. So he put his money where his mouth is and hopes he made the right decision through solid research into the options.
As soon as he can get all the truckers converted to NG, he can raise the price and make a windfall. Remember how cheap diesel was until auto manufacturers started making more cars that ran on it? Now it's more expensive than premium. Please don't let this guy pull the wool over your eyes.
Let's rebuild our railroads and take as many of these polluting semis off the road as possible.
"Pickens is right." No, he is wrong. He and his sidekick Audrey McLendon, the head of the Natural Gas Association are both wrong. McLendon recently stated in a commercial that our larger trucks had to burn natural gas as they could not burn ethanol. Archer-Mid
As the former owner of a small18-wheel trucking operation, I can tell you truckers do not want huge natural gas tanks on their tractors. Ethanol blended with diesel fuel will suffice for a while. Eventually, we will be able to run these trucks on hydrogen. But we do not need to convert our large trucks to Texas natural gas.
I am sorry but I would rather get my information regarding the value of natural gas from someone other than Mr. Pickens who is invested heavily in natural gas production. We have to learn to stop expanding and growing in population, we need to learn balance. All our resource use is in terms of “growing smarter”, but in reality the problem is our growing, growing smarter is an oxymoron, we don't need more people. And if it were not for our extremely liberal immigration policy, drafted by big business, we would not have population growth at all, but then we would have all those new customers either…When we learn to use energy "more wisely" what we are really doing is allowing that energy savings to be used by some new business or residential building somewhere else, there is no real saving.
It’s like when I lived in Arizona, they really push water conservation, not because they care about the environment, or about sustainability, but because they need those water savings so they can use that water in new developments.
Save money for FLEET cars or for the average guy??
This is what I like about Pickens even though there are things in his past I don't like. He doesn't go around yelling "the sky is falling - the sky is falling", dwelling on the radio pundits 24-7, and making stupid knee jerk business decisions as a result. In this case he has rolled up his sleeves, gotten to the truth of the matter, and went to work finding a solution that can be profitable and good for the country.
...what part of his proposal constitutes a 'solution'? Please explain.
"I've always said that the most important quality of a good leader is that you've got to be willing to make a decision."
Also, the quality of a good leader is one who puts the interests of the people as a whole, ahead of the interests of his ability to make a profit, or to do so on behalf of others who would stand to profit.
"For almost four decades, this country has been floundering without an energy plan."
Ummm, I beg to differ. President Nixon launched the Project Independence plan in 1973. It's goal was to have the US be energy self-sufficient by 1980. It never worked. We are still way too addicted to oil. Nixon, Ford and Carter were besieged by nay-sayers and special interests who combined to prevent it along with shell games being played with tax dollars by Congress.
There's not enough natural gas in the ground to supplant our oil-derived energy consumption.
Rebuild the railroads as electric. Take the rigs off the road.
You know I worked around Natural Gas for a long time. And I gotta say, people are funny when it comes to energy. They get sold on the "green" factors a lot but never see that we are the only cause for "not climate change", but the real problem...
go to his site and become part of the Pickens Army.
I would still build the windmills even if he doesn't. Someone will do it. I think we do need a green bank or national investment bank that will fund a wide variety of prjects, including wind, solar, natural gas, high speed rail, research on fusion and many other new industries.
This country has lagged behind the rest of the world for too long. We have become backward and fossilzed, so to speak, and we have to break through this at all costs and move into the eceonomy of future.
Conservatives and Republicans have no vision, no ideas for the future, and can do nothing. They have nohing to offer, and will just keep the country stuck in the past--and if the trends of the last 30 years continue, we will be ruined. They are just a Southern party, the most backward region of the country, and would drag all the rest of us down to that level.
I wonder. Not that I'm southern or a Republican, but why should we ever look to our civic servants for vision. Government has no power, no money, no ideas. It is only we the people who choose to surrender this trust. As long as the government is still beholding to the people. I think it is you who should not drag us down, but rather show us what you got. And hopefully more then "Whats' wrong, and Who's to blame for it."
As long as you preserve liberty, the greatest of ideas will come, as they have always.
Fully renewable energy systems lack the ability to co-generate without the use of fossil fuels... Yes, NG is a fossil fuel, as well. Now, for the first time, we are able to co-generate raw renewable energy output from intermittent-source facilities, using 100% renewable technology. We hope to bring this technology to market before the year is out, and with it a blueprint to end the burning of fossil fuels in the electric power industry, once and for all time. We're a small start-up out of Austin, Texas. Watch for our revolutionary HydrOx technology in the months to come...
My previous post mentioned Honda Hydrogen fuel cell technology as a more visionary approach to powering our vehicles over the long term than what I think is a very short-sighted approach using a bunch of "Everready" or "Duracell" batteries like Detroit wants to do.
I remember as a child watching a Wonderful World of Disney cartoon in which the driver was filling up the tank of his car with water. I wonder if we are closer than we think to turning science fiction into reality again. I read one article claiming that someone in Texas is using a hydrogen generator in cars to increase gasoline fuel economy and also to clean out the engine. I remember in my youth that some folks used water injection systems that claimed to improve fuel economy and clean out the engine.
If I understand HydrOx technology, as seen on http://hyd
You're actually rather close, fuelie... Wind and solar production facilities are characterized by ups and downs in output, requiring utilities to burn fossil-fuels in order to provide reliable co-generation, thereby preventing consumer brown-outs and outages.
Our HydrOx technology, by contrast converts raw electric power from these renewable sources into hydrogen and oxygen gases http://www
We are able to co-generate intermittent output raw renewable energy, using pure water, with no greenhouse gas, NOX, or other environmentally destructive emissions, and a zero-carbon footprint.
Thank you for your comment regarding our collective creative minds!
North America has enough accessible natural gas reserves to last 500 years at current consumption rates according the 2008 US Department of Energy Domestic Energy Report’. As much as I hate to admit it the convicted greenmailer Pickins is right.
They say that politics makes for strange bedfellows and this could not be more true in this particular case of Pickens with me. I do not like this guy. I don't like his politics or his tactics. That said, he does know the nat. gas business and he is very friendly to green technology. I may not want to have dinner with him but I would not object to his input at the executive level for a national energy policy.
And if we get all semi rigs and other vehicles converted to NG, the consumption rate will increase by what? Fifty, one hundred, five hundred times? Bye bye, reserves.
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