Radical Change calls for Radical Ideas

So, of all the places I’d expect to hear about new green initiatives, this one actually comes from my boss. He forwarded me an e-mail yesterday that said:

As an outgrowth of my decades of focus on state capitals and Governors around the country, I have been working with a coalition of environmental groups, trade associations, and businesses to organize and promote what will be the nation’s biggest virtual march to support the passage of a new energy bill through Congress that will take the next critical steps in finally declaring America’s independence from foreign oil. This is now not just an energy issue, but an environmental issue and a national security issue. The Stimulus bill put the necessary incentives in place for renewable energy investments, but now we need the next piece: green transmission, a national renewable portfolio standard and incentives to get our nations heavy trucks off diesel and onto natural gas.

The March is being led by Robert Kennedy Jr. and T. Boone Pickens – a pairing that surely makes the point that this is an issue that transcends politics and party and is the patriotic cause of our lifetime.

Over 1.9 million people have agreed so far to participate. It is our goal to stimulate over 1 million contacts to the Congress over that three-day period.

So, at first I was naturally skeptical, but then I started reading about T. Boone Pickens’ investements and recent green-business developments. The gist of the “Pickens Plan”, as it’s called, is to shift existing technologies in a way that will enable/cause us to use more American energy sources and become more self-sufficient. Right now, 22% of our electricity is generated from Natural Gas. The Pickens Plan calls for tax dollars/incentives to utilyze Wind Power to generate that 22% of electricity production, and shift the Natural Gas volume over for use in transportation. Figures supplied by the Pickens Plan indicate that doing so could replace 36% of the current gasoline/diesel usage with Natural Gas harvested in America.

In the interest of full disclosure, Pickens and the group he chairs, own the largest wind farm and the largest chain of Natural Gas fueling stations in the U.S., so enacting these measures would cause a large financial reward to Pickens. That said, last year Pickens made $2.7 billion as the manager of BP Capital hedge fund, mostly on profits from Suncorp & Exxonmobile, the largest oil companies in North Amercia; so whichever way you go on this proposal, he’s still making money. This makes me clearly side with the route that helps the environment.

For more info on the Plan, and how you can help, visit:
http://www.pickensplan.com/virtualmarch/