Yep, that's a pic of me and T. Boone himself. And, hey, which one of us did you recognize first? No, that's not a question born out of personal insecurity. But while we're on the topic, how does my make-up look, anyway?
For all of his billions of dollars, his runaway financial success and energy-field endeavors, and his profile as the nation's record-breaking university donor, did you know who T. Boone Pickens was nine months ago, much less what he looked like? Hell, I know someone who covers energy for a living and thought the man's name was actually "T-Bone." Pickens is from Texas, cattle country, after all.
Well, that's what a $60-million p.r. campaign (his number) can do for you. With the unfurling of The Pickens Plan last summer, Boone has introduced himself to the nation at large. And now you Oklahomans and Wall Street Watchers aren't the only ones to tilt your heads toward him when he's speaking.
The basics? I'd be surprised if you don't know them already, given all the nightly news appearances and newspaper editorials. Still, he reiterated them (and to some extent reworked the emphasis) during this week's speech at the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum here in DC.
Boone wants Wind energy to generate 22% of our nation's electricity. Got that, 22%? The EIA says in 2006 wind accounted for a little more than one-quarter of 1% of U.S. energy consumption.
According to Pickens, what we need is new transmission lines (many, many, many new lines) to carry the electricity from turbines to customers. And he's right. When you see federal funding bills for new transmission this year, you can bet Wind is one of the driving factors. Lately, he has added some Solar to this part of his plan.
The other half of Pickens' preaching seems more easily attainable to me. Use Natural Gas as a bridge fuel for transportation. Get us off of foreign oil and carry us for a few decades until we have commercially-viable vehicle battery technology. As the saying goes, Natural Gas is "Affordable, Abundant, and American."
Plus, Boone has an influential advocate in the White House. No, not him. When Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was in the upper echelons of Democratic House leadership, he supported Natural Gas as a transportation fuel. Apparently, Rahm even inserted language supporting the infrastructure transition in the Dems' stalled House energy bill last year. Boone is tweaking this part of the pitch a bit, now emphasizing Natural Gas for the commercial sector.
And, lo and behold, just today AT&T announced it's going with Natural Gas, spending $565 million over a decade on 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles ($350 million of which will buy 8,000 compressed natural gas vehicles). An article on Fortune.com says, "...the purchase is smart economics.
Back to the pic with Boone and, yes, Cowboy fans, I'm wearing a black suit with an orange tie. And, well, OK I'll admit it...I always wear orange and black when I know I'll be interviewing Boone. As much as he enjoys talking about The Pickens Plan, my best conversations with him inevitably seem to involve Oklahoma State athletics.
By the way, Boone tells me the Cowboys' Holiday Bowl loss to Oregon is the one game from last season that bothers him the most. And did you know QB Zac Robinson sustained a concussion and a separated shoulder? So says Boone. The Cowboys' home stadium does bear his name, after all.
CNN Money posted the Fortune.com article here: http://money.cnn.com/news/
And the Washington Post's Dana Milbank ran a biting commentary on Boone's recent speech at EnergyBiz. Keep in mind that Pickens made many of these quoted comments in tongue-in-cheek fashion. Understanding a little bit about Boone's Texas and Oklahoma roots, I like to think I got the jokes:
http://www.washingtonpost.
Finally, here's a look ahead at Pickens' beloved OSU Cowboys' 2009 schedule:
http://www.okstate.com/Spo
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