T. Boone Pickens came to town on Wednesday, drawing his characteristic overflow crowd at KU’s Dole Institute of Politics. He was welcomed by Senator Dole, who was himself introduced by Senator Brownback.
Brownback, sounding very much like a gubernatorial candidate, set the tone: “I want to see Kansas be a state of renewables. Kansas can be the center of this new development. We can do this in America, it is important that we do it in Kansas. We can be the Saudi Arabia of wind.”
Senator Dole – who received a standing ovation from the Kansas crowd – opined that the Pickens Plan “is a great opportunity for Kansas” and insisted that “this should not be a political issue.” (He drew a laugh from the crowd when he said that politics is fine for 38 years or so, but then you’ve got to get over it.)
When Mr. Pickens himself took the stage he focused, from start to finish, on energy independence. “We’ve got to get off foreign oil,” he said repeatedly. “If you don’t like my plan, your plan is foreign oil.”
Pickens emphasized the need to use natural gas as a transition fuel. He bets batteries and fuel cells are the future of transportation, but to get there, he said, and particularly to power heavy trucks, “natural gas provides a bridge to the future.”
Wind, he said, should provide a significant portion of the nation’s electricity. To get that wind to market, he emphasized, America must build a new transmission system. “We’re gonna have to subsidize it, there’s no question we do,” he said.
“A green economy means we’re on our own resources,” Pickens said. “And that will be the best economy we’ve ever had. If it’s American, I’m for it.”
Calling Al Gore his “new friend,” Pickens spoke over the crowd’s chuckles to say “Climate is page one for Al. National security is page one for me, climate is page two.”
Pickens urged the crowd to take action, and particularly to contact their representatives in Congress, who are considering a great deal of energy legislation, including several transmission bills as well as at least three versions of a Renewable Energy Standard. “I’m 80 years old,” Pickens said. “So I’m in a rush.”
Kansas appears to like a man with a plan – particularly a jocular billionaire who puts his money where his mouth is. After loud applause, the crowd lined up to buy Pickens’ book and get his autograph. It remains to be seen whether they will respond to his call.
— Nancy Jackson, www.climateandenergy.org
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