A Bone to pick with T Boone Pickens

Alright, I must admit to this: I liked http://www.pickensplan.com/ T Boone Pickens plan at first glance, but just like anything else given the proper scrutiny, it has flaws…

 

Hmmm, but don’t we all? I know I hate having mine pointed out : ) but, this is an energy plan not a personal thing so I’ll pick on the Pickens. So, just what would the pros and cons be…see how I am, all accepting and gracious of his plan one minute and then playing the devil’s advocate and all that the next, hahaha…ya gotta love it though (no?)…

 

I got into the whole thing, too. I took copious notes which I later could not read due to my awful handwriting (though I have a cool signature). I also found load of links that went nowhere at all…its possible Yahoo! is so po’d at the Pick that they shut down some avenues of research.

 

Anyway, here’s what I did gather and here’s my opinion (for what it’s worth…)

 

The overview for those who missed Pick’s plan (how you might’ve done that I do not know, been under a rock for a week…?) see above link ’Pickens Plan’ for details but here let’s say half the plan calls for more ‘wind power’ and the other half for large scale conversion of autos/trucks to natural gas.

 

Lots of pros and an almost equal amount of cons…mmmm: less dependence on foreign oil, yes this makes us all smile – ah, but here’s that first flaw, isn’t natural gas yet another finite source of a carbon based fossil fuel? (Oh and I’m thinking of switching from heroin to cocaine myself…) it wreaks of same same but not totally…it isn’t optimal and oh it’s definitely self-serving for the P man; and yet it’s infinitely more workable than Gore’s vision of zero carbon use (especially if he keeps flying that jumbo jet around to give speeches).

 

As an aside, wow, the pros and cons not to mention the efficacy of the whole wind power thing is an entry or two in itself and maybe I’ll get to that also at a later  date.

 

Let me just add that wealth and power do not (usually) convert to causes just and a sudden conscience (come to Jesus meetings notwithstanding) so in this case do you care that this plan would be a huge boon to T Boone (too good of a pun to pass up, sorry)? And ask a Texan, or Pick even, they’ll tell you: no oil boom lasts forever and check out natural gas prices in 2000 there was an increase of 400%…oops…so apparently the same applies there also.

 

What would be wrong with increasing fuel efficacy standards, increasing development of plug in hybrid and electric vehicles, oh and hey how about a high speed railway, there’s a passage into the new millennium, hahaha…but nobody called and asked me, boo hoo…

 

Maybe the T man can go have a chat with the German government, they mandated the purchase by power companies of wind power and the variable nature of the generation drives them nuts; but you know, I hear Germans are easily driven to distraction (kidding…). If the wind fades at peak times they get slammed by costumers, if they maintain generators on standby it cost them more money, either way they’re screwed.

 

And there are other inefficient and damn inconvenient things that occur in the mid-west, in winter, ah yes…ice storms, etc…yep, damn inconvenient for full time efficacy…

 

Hee hee, I think this one quote from an unnamed source says it all, ‘I think when dealing with Ole’ T Bone one should keep their hands on their wallet.’

 

Another good q would be: is the Pick fishing for subsidies? Well, as they say in the mid-west windy regions, ‘oh, you betcha…’

 

Picks plan all sounded so good to me, still does actually, but now, it seems like the ‘better than nothing’ fix. I could feel more positive about it…I think it’s part of general disdain and mistrust for the man who is a billionaire that was reflected in the articles that did me in, but seriously, should we care about that if he does something positive for the US? Do people hate the super rich on general principles?? We all have nay-sayers so for the time being, I’m cutting Pick some slack, how about you?

 

Hey, the old man who said I was perfect at the gym, (last week ‘random acts of…’ well, he’s been kicking my ass with hour long workout sessions lately, so I asked him, ‘what happened to the ‘you’re perfect’ thing?’ He said, ‘yes, but your two weeks away from total perfection.’ Ok, I can deal with 2 weeks but after that plain ‘perfect’ is going to have to be good enough : )