Big 2 Energy Report: Pickens Push for Nat Gas
By: Mycah Glover
Updated: July 26, 2010
T. Boone Pickens is known around the world as an energy leader. He made billions in the oil business before becoming a leader in the alternative energy movement. Now, he says he has a way to cut back on oil imports, keeping money and jobs here at home.
Big 2 News had a rare chance to speak with Pickens about his new plan. He says it's fairly simple. "There's two choices. You either go for a plan that uses natural gas, our resourses in this country. And if you don't go for it, then you go for foreign oil, " says Pickens.Pickens has pushed wind energy for years. While he hasn't put the idea to bed completely, his newest venture focuses on natural gas. He says the long-term security of our nation depends on it. "The oil you're most concerned about, it is a security issue, is the oil from OPEC. We import 13 million barrels of oil a day, 5 (million) of that comes from OPEC," says Pickens.
Here's what he says he'd like to see happen. "All we have to do is focus on the 8 million 18-wheelers in the U.S. If those could go to natural gas, you would cut OPEC in half, "he says.
According to Pickens, it's a movement going on around the world, and we need to catch up. There's currently 12 million vehicles in the world that run on natural gas, only 130-thousand are in the U.S. "It's nuts. We will go down as the dumbest crowd that ever came down the road if we don't get on our own resource and quit buyng oil from the enemy, " says Pickens.
