Have you seen T. Boone Pickens’ plan regarding energy? (Updated)
I caught a headline of this on a copy of today’s USAToday laying on a counter at the coffee shop this morning and I see that Instapundit has it, too. T. Boone Pickens is suggesting a response to our energy situation and he’s looking for support. I’ve viewed the video and I think you should, too. Have a look:
Now, it’s not a plan for instant energy independence but it’s a plan on doing something more about our current situation than simply telling people they have to made do with less. I’m interested in the serious thoughts about this plan from the readers here at HoodaThunk? If you’ve been a lurker, here’s your chance to comment. Please, folks, make comments for or against the plan and not about other commenters. Thanks!
Update: Here’s the vid at YouTube in case you’re having trouble with the player at the Pickens site.
Update 2: In e-mail, a colleague of mine brings up the concern that if we start trying to switch to natural gas to run our cars, the price of heating our homes will go up dramatically. He cites the example of current corn prices. They’ve jumped as farmers have started selling their crops to biofuel manufacturers because they can get better prices than selling their crops as food. Definitely something to be concerned about.
However, I now have to wonder what the current equivalent “price per gallon” of natural gas is compared to gasoline and whether natural gas will produce the same amount of propulsion per unit as gasoline does. In other words, I can reasonably get 34 mpg (highway) in my Toyota Matrix and she’s got a 13 gallon tank. Assuming full capacity to bone dry, that’s a range of 446 miles. A more reasonable estimate – and one that I’ve actually achieved – is about 400 miles on a tank of gas. Can I get the same range off of a tank of compressed natural gas (CNG) that takes up the same volume of space?
Also, knowing what the “price per gallon” of CNG would be, can I sustain the price jump my friend is worried about and still be better off than spending $4 on a gallon of gasoline? $5? $6?
Interesting questions.
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The key thing here is that someone is putting serious effort into solving the “problem,” instead of simply whining. Yes, switching to LNG will increase the overall demand and hence the price. But using more wind may lower demand. “ENERGY” as a general concept included all forms, coal, oil, gas, solar, wind, nuclear etc. Diversification is always good. Furthermore, concentrated solar is gaining ground both in the US and Spain. This form puts otherwise unproductive land areas into use. And finally, consider this, take an area like the Sahara desert, which is not really productive land in the sense of agriculture or even hospitable for human dwelling. And yet, with concentrated solar and wind, this land could become highly productive in energy production. To transport or store the energy may require a well developed system, such as one that creates hydrogen from sea water. However, this is not that challenging of an engineering issue as natural gas, oil, and water, are already pipelined over great distance. It takes the will and the leadership to make these things happen. The rest is details, most of which have been worked out. Enjoying your blog and thanks from us at http://www.bentpage.wordpress.com.
There is a Public Forum for discussions on Pickens Plan : http://www.pickensenergyplan.com
See you there !
What about nuclear? Aren’t we done being scared of it by now?
What about nuclear? Aren’t we done being scared of it by now? Why the hell is everybody still scared of the power that allows us to explore space?
[...] plan not just a bunch of wind By now most people have heard of the plan I mentioned a couple of weeks ago by T. Boone Pickens called the Pickens Plan. I have to tell you, I’m an advocate of the plan. [...]
Pingback by Pickens plan not just a bunch of wind « HoodaThunk? | 23 July, 2008