If you have watched any American television in the past month there is a good chance you have witnessed a commercial or two featuring a smiling old oil man talking over a backdrop draped in eco-friendly windmills; I give you T. Boone Pickens and his creatively-titled solution to the energy crisis in America, The Pickens Plan. With his authentic southern draw and down-home charm, T. Boone Pickens reminds one more of our current president (he donated millions to both Bush and the Swift-boat attacks on John Kerry) than he does of an alternative-energy advocate trying to cross partisan-lines and solve perhaps America’s most prominent problem. This impression may unfortunately hold a bit more legitimacy than one may hope, especially after conducting a bit of research into the life and motives of Pickens himself.The Pickens Plan is a mass public relations campaign financed by who other than Mr. Picken’s himself, an effort he has put $58 million of his personal fortune into (Pickens earned $2.7 billion in 2007 alone). With a website that could have been designed by Al Gore himself and ads filled with liberal talking-points, it is an obvious attempt to blur the line between parties and make a desperate appeal for nationwide consent. In his plan, Pickens outlines what exactly has caused the energy crisis in America, and what exactly he plans to do about it.
In 1970, America imported 24% of its oil; In 2008, America imports 70% of its oil. This dependence on foreign oil is annually costing America upwards of $700 billion, while doing nothing to improve its struggling economy. Furthermore, America uses approximately 25% of the world’s oil, while constituting less than 5% of its population. Based on these eye-opening statistics, it is obvious that something transformative and drastic must occur. Who better to tell us than one of the richest oil men in the world.
Picken’s plan focuses on two changes in American energy infrastructure. Firstly, he proposes a dramatic increase in the use of wind energy for electricity production, claiming, with the help of colorful graphs, that America is the Saudi Arabia of wind power. Optimistically, Pickens claims that a mass investment in wind power would create enough energy to satisfy 20% of America’s energy needs. With this new-found electricity in production, the second key component of Pickens Plan is to use our natural gas reserves for transportation purposes (it is a clean burning, cheap fuel) rather than additional electricity. This will obviously get America off gas and spark a new wave of natural gas vehicles and fuel stations. If all goes according to plans (The Pickens Plan that is), America would save $300 billion annually.The plan has potential. Both John McCain and Barack Obama have met with Mr. Pickens in the past couple months and rumors of a Secretary of Energy reserved for T Boone have been circulating now for some time, but I’m not convinced. If the Bush years have taught me anything about Washington, it is to not trust those who hold personal ties with big business and have a personal financial stake in the policies of the government. I have learned that despite populist rhetoric and what appear to be genuine intentions, businessmen in the political realm never seem to get away from that not-so-invisible hand of self-interest. T. Boone Pickens and his nation-saving plan is no different.
A closer look at Pickens himself reveals the true motivation behind his now famous plan. In regards to wind energy, Pickens owns Mesa Power. Mesa Power is the largest wind energy company in the world and has already built the most expensive wind farm in the US, with existing plans to purchase a substantial amount of wind turbines. Could this be the reason Pickens Plan fails to focus on other established alternative energy sources, say solar? Pickens also owns a company that conveniently changed its name in 2004 from ENRG to Clean Energy, specializing in natural gas fueling stations. Coincidence? Perhaps that’s the reason hybrid cars aren’t even mentioned in Pickens Plan.While it is obvious that America is suffering from an energy crisis, it is important for Americans to maintain a critical eye and not merely accept whatever potential solution they are presented with. It is equally important to take a closer look at who is presenting the potential solution, and the possible ulterior motives such a person may possess. It is not obvious to me that T. Boone Pickens’ plan for personal profit is necessarily a bad decision for America. It is obvious to me that it is a decision organized around a personal agenda. Such an argument must always be looked at skeptically when attempting to pursue what is best for the public and nation as a whole.
