A Call to Action from an Inveterate U.S. Oil Man. Commentary by T. Boone Pickens, WSJournal, July 9, 2008, subscription. "One of the benefits of being around a long time is that you get to know a lot about certain things. I'm 80 years old and I've been an oilman for almost 60 years. I've drilled more dry holes and also found more oil than just about anyone in the industry. With all my experience, I've never been as worried about our energy security as I am now. Like many of us, I ignored what was happening. Now our country faces what I believe is the most serious situation since World War II. The problem, of course, is our growing dependence on foreign oil -- it's extreme, it's dangerous, and it threatens the future of our nation... I have a clear goal in mind with my plan. I want to reduce America's foreign oil imports by more than one-third in the next five to 10 years. How will we do it? We'll start with wind power. Wind is 100% domestic, it is 100% renewable and it is 100% clean... My plan calls for [using wind power] to replace a significant percentage of the natural gas that is now being used to fuel our power plants... We can use new wind capacity to free up the natural gas for use as a transportation fuel. That would displace more than one-third of our foreign oil imports. Natural gas is the only domestic energy of size that can be used to replace oil used for transportation, and it is abundant... cheap and... clean... I believe this plan will... [afford] us the time to develop new technologies... I also want to see us explore... every energy alternative, from more R&D into batteries and fuel cells to development of solar, ethanol and biomass to more conservation... The future begins as soon as Congress and the president act... We have the grit and fortitude to shoulder the responsibility of change... We need action. Now." T. Boone Pickens is CEO of BP Capital.
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