Surrounded by a scrum of journalists in the US Capitol's LBJ Room, 81-year-old Texas entrepreneur T . Boone Pickens defined what it means to be unflappable. While all about him are seemingly losing their cool, Pickens, dressed in a very comfortable gray suit, never once raised his voice. His soft Texas drawl quieted the mob, much like oil on water.
With a half-dozen voice recorders thrust within inches of his face, hot television lights glaring, he didn't miss a beat in responding to questions about a subject that he previously refused to talk about -- the delay in the development of his windmill farm in north Texas.
He had wanted to talk about how July 8 would go down in history as America's Energy Independence Day. A bill that would encourage the use of natural gas by heavy transportation, a companion bill to previously introduced House legislation. Converting 20% of the country's 18-wheelers to liquefied natural gas will go a long way toward reducing the demand for oil imported from unfriendly countries and help him sleep better at night.
Instead, he was bombarded by questions like, "Is wind power dead?"
Patiently, as he would with a child asking silly questions about Santa Claus, he said wind power "is not dead." He pointed out that he "had spent a lot of money" on his plans to develop a wind farm in north Texas. He was not abandoning the project, just delaying it. At the same time, renewables can't provide all the electricity the country needs and environmentalists will just have to accept that. Still, "renewables will be a part" of the country's energy future.
After about 15 minutes, the impromptu press conference ended, the wolf pack satiated. Pickens walked out of the room like he was going to a board room or a cocktail party with friends. There wasn't a bead of sweat on him, no hair was out of place.
CAN ANYONE WITH TRUE KNOWLEDGE EXPLAIN WHO PRODUCES NATURAL GAS DRIVEN VEHICLES IN BRAZIL AND WHY THEY CANNOT BE IMPORTED OR PRODUCED IN THE US AT A COMPETIVE COST. WHY DOES NOT B PICKENS DISCUSS THAT PART OF THE EQUATION.
We're not aware of any advice from Pickens on converting a vehicle to natural gas, or car manufacturers providing us with kits for the purpose, but there is quite a lot of material out there about conversions. NGVAmerica has a paper that includes this information. The Pickens Plan web site doesn't appear to have any conversion information, although it does have some very nice lapel stickers and house party guides.
I would LOVE to work for Boone. I wonder if he needs any employees at the WIND MILL Farm?
Being TEXAS true blood, Boone is my kind of Texan. Of course, I do not know him up close and personal but he is a man on a mission and I love that plan and would consider it an honor to be a part of the mission.
a Brilliant bus.man The BEST OF BEST! With great things to come?? Thank You, I had a great time in H.Q.@ Dallas TX ON E. I. Da. 7/08/09 anniversary NO 1.