mr. pickens would like to make a recommendation for the new smart grid power generation system. the new grid could use the existing right of ways of the interstate highway system and also use state highways also for the delivery system. the federal highway department should call in each state director to washington next week and start planning for each state and how it will interface with each other. if you like this idea please contact my brother whom is a project manager with tetratech engineers in the memphis office. tel. 901-523-9500 or cell 901-355-0752. while listening to the summit on the delayed c-span broadcast that evening it became obivious that the easement and right of way's where starring us in the face after acknowledgeing mr. gore sr. pushing for the national interstate highway system. thank-you, richard barden

It's great to see what we all view as Political people, gather to discuss real problems and solutions within our reach in such a positive way.

What about nuclear power? It is the way.

We can no longer afford to delay a comprehensive energy plan to relieve us from foreign energy sources. Besides our wealth of fossil fuels that we must retrieve, alternate sources, such as wind, solar, water, and absolutely nuclear must be agressivlely pursued. If the Three Mile Island accident in March 1979 did not happen, it was not a catastrophe, I was there; we would have nuclear plants sufficient today comparable to the nuclear energy France enjoys.

Boone, Thanks for everything you do! Reading Richard Barden's post above, reminded me of a web site I saw about a world-wide hydrogen superhighway. See it at: http://www.interstatetraveler.us/ The developer Justin Sutton has invented an amazing solution to numerous problems all at once. While it might seem a little far fetched at first glance, I think it is just that sort of the out of the box thinking that we need. I'm sure when John Kennedy spoke about putting a man on the moon, people were disbelieving... If we're going to build something, instead of tearing up the roads, highways and bridges and snarl traffic as we do it, perhaps instead, we build something like this NEXT to the existing infrastructure. I think it's worth a look. Thanks, James

How about having a windmill company put a windmill on the Washington Mall during the "march". Note: Every year, about 20 to 25 solar powered homes are put on the mall by University students for their annual "Solar Decathalon". Maybe a windmill, a solar power system, a "mini-grid" and a home powered by solar/wind energy on the Mall during the march.

What about Geothermal free energy to produce electricity with no pollution.

The Power of GREAT EXPO 2009 Business decision-makers will come to the Global Renewable Energy Advanced Technologies, Summit

Hello Mr Pickens and Hi guys: Jobs we need, power we need, and green energy is mandated. Mr. Goldsmith is correct when he said that now is the time for more “Hydro dams”. The stimulus money that the government wants to spend to create jobs could not be better spent than building more Hydro dams. This is the only green energy that is cheaper and more reliable than any other energy generation including wind generation. A up to date dam like the ones in my area are unmanned and completely remote controlled. They generate when demand is high usually during the day and the generators become motors when there is little power demand such as during the night time hours when demand is low. During that period the turbines pump the water back into the reservoir to be used again the next time needed. AEP has four of the unmanned dams close to me with one maintenance guy to inspect them all. AEP’s Leesville Lake, VA dam is an example of what I am talking about. Another advantage is the hydro dams can instantly power with unlimited variable Megawatts up to full their load design. But the biggest advantage it has to wind is location. Transmitting electricity for long distances have huge loses and lowers the available current limits the longer the distance is. Hydro can be located almost anywhere in the United States. Most every state will have a suitable site for a Hydro dam. Hydro is free energy from now on, once the initial investment is made. The reservoir makes a great habitat for people and animals alike. Yielding boating and camping sites for all. I cannot believe out of all of the talk President Obama has been talking about green energy and breaking our addition to foreign oil that not one dime was assigned or even mention in all of his packages for the upgrade and the creation of new Hydro power. WIND is very good, Hydro is GRATE!!! David Martin

I suggest the grid be built along the railroads. -The railroads cover the country quiet efficiently. -The railroads have right-of-ways with space left by the no longer used telegraph lines which formally ran next to the railroad. -As was pointed out at the summit, the land for the railroads was given to the railroads by the Government to aid in first building the railroads,,,,,,,what better place to improve this country than where the very first improvements began.

While having a national grid is good, I believe that President Carter had a plan that gave homeowners incentives for installing solar for heating and also electric on their homes. Insulation and energy saving products were also included. I believe that to keep this nation energy independant we need this program back. Please if you can get Mr. Jimmy Carter on board and find out from him how his program worked. thanks.

If we're looking for right-of-way for a national grid, it seems to me that we already have a nation-wide grid that people don't want to live nex to - the rail system! Perhaps there's a chance to combine the power grid and the rail system right of way - effectively killing two birds with one stone.

That was a kinda lame video. The good things, though, are what Mr. Pickens said: that, quite simply, we need to get away from a dependence on foreign oil. What's tragic is that cash injections for renewable energy have been shoved down our throat in a stimulus plan that is meant to float our economy till it gets back on its own two feet. This was rather than politicians being brave enough to bring real change through legislation that isn't a sucker punch to those having their own personal economic crises. Renewable energy is still highly expensive to realize, which is the reason why there's less of it, and that's in part because we've been all talk and no action since the 1970s when the oil embargo got a wide swath of people truly thinking about wind, solar, etc. I suppose that view offends the far left who attended the Summit, like the bored-to-death Sen. Harry Reid, but if everyone here is a cheerleader, then we aren't going to win the game. The thing is, right here in this comment area there are good ideas of what to do and how to run a new grid than I heard during the Summit (what parts I sat through). Granted, I couldn't hazard sitting through the whole thing again. I had hoped this video was going to wide me a good taste of ideas, not back-patting, so it was near meaningless (sorry, but I'm looking for purpose and opportunity, not happy comment montages, here, and there were only those from Boone in this video). If uncreative, self-possessed politicians are the best we have to lead this thing in the public sector, then it's going to be a very tough road away from foreign oil and toward EFFECTIVE renewable and native energy sources. Shoving tax money at it and other ideas, when the entire planet is suffering financially, seems to me to lower confidence, not raise it, as far as what the U.S. intends to do to prevent a potential long-term depression. It's disappointing. It does not matter what I think, at this rate, about economic choices, but only those who actually have money to invest. I am severely underemployed and have never worked in construction or energy (while I might have to). Who cares what I think? The people with money to invest seem to vote NO every time we do something, right now. Is it pure coincidence that every time Obama speaks, or someone like Dodd comments about how govt is going to take over the banks, that markets or indiv. stocks plummet? By contrast, the few days where no one says something damaging to hope about the economy, the markets either rise or barely drop? Not to a perfect record, but darn close! It's a creepy state of things, this govt tells private sector what to do mentality. Stupid me, I thought we elected our officials to work for us, apparently we've voted them in to tell us what to do. Shame.

This is excellent, but you are going to have to start talking to your Republican friends if you expect anything to pass the Senate. The Republican Senators sat in unison when the rest of Congress rose to applaud Obama for discussing this issue. They will obstruct this because they see it as a success for the Democrats and government intervention. It is time to take Mitch McConnell by the hand and lead him to the light of energy change. The national energy grid is no different then the program started by President Eisenhower to build the Interstate Highway System. We have benefited from that expenditure for 50 years. Lacking that I suspect we are looking at serious obstruction from the Republicans.

My husband Troy Fields is a lifelong builder and continues to study ways to save energy. Here in Texas hot summers require lots of air conditioning. He says that seven feet below the surface of our property the temperature is is a constant 70 degrees and even cooler at a greater depth. Before next summer he is planning to dig a 7' deep trench around our home, install plastic pipe at that level, connect it to the blower on our air conditioner to cool the house naturally without freon. It is a simple solution to high cooling bills in Texas summers. We also built our house with deep porches to shade the interior. If anyone is interested in learning more about this on this website, you can contact us at tlfrecon@aol.net. It is just one more way to reduce energy use in hot weather areas of the country.

Boone, I really was proud of the positive comments that you got at the Summit. All of us that have been on board the Pickens Plan can give our selves a pat on the back. But then it is back to work. The voices of the Army ...i.e. the voices of voters...got the politicians attention. I did also notice the little childish behaviour of the group that sat and did not show their support during President's speech. I noticed the 100% non support group that did not vote "yes" on the President's plan to stimulate the economy. The President is working for us and for the changes we voted for. Don't they get it? We know who got us into this mess. On a much more positive note, don't forget to go to www.recovery.gov for the reports on how the stimulus money is spent. It is also interesting to go to the online information at www.whitehouse.gov. President Obama promised us tranparency in government and these websites have much information to that end. I have never been so excited and involved in the working of MY government. I have loved being part of the Pickens Army. Thanks,Boone...and give your wife a thank you for telling you to just go do it when you saw the need for this plan. I'm a transplanted Texas girl up here in New York but I am just so darn proud of you and I think you are very much the equal of those two "Nobel guys".

With the current economic meltdown effecting my job as Union Carpenter, building exhibits for a number of auto companies including the big 3 that are in dire straights, I like a lot of Michigan workers will be out of a job. I should have listenend to my gut feeling 20 years ago, and stayed away from the Auto Industry. But I have a choice, I have been interested in alternative energy for 10 years on a serious note, and all of my life just out of curiousity. I set a show in Atlanta about 10 years ago for GM alternitive fuels, in the exhibit they had a 2 1/2 ton GMC stake bed truck powered by LP gas. One of the fire marshall rules for showing a vehicle in a convention center, is that it be nearly empty on fuel. Which at the close of the show, trying to get this vehicle out of the convention center it was out of fuel. Where do you go in Atlanta to fill a LP powered vehicle? That brings us to my point about alternative fuel, be it wind, solar, LP gas or whatever, the oil companies and the oil industry are just not going to sit by and let this become the staple fuel in the United States. Untill jobs are created and secured by workers such as myself, in the field of alternative fuels, (installing wind turbines, solar PV grid systems, converting gas powered vehicles to LP gas) this concept is still just a dream. When the average person starts to benifit from going to alternative fuel and going green, that is when it will take a strong hold on the nation. I want to do all I can to help this cause, I joined the Pickens Plan back in the spring of 08, and want to inform others. We must not give up.

No on the nuclear for two reasons. 1) the waste issue. do you want it buried in your back yard? why take the chance with all the waste? 2) if you were a terrorist, wouldn't it be a tempting target to crash a plane into a nuclear power plant? just think how many Americans those b@stards could kill. And what if they hit several plants? I don't even wanna think about that....too scary.

Apparently the Speaker and Senator Reid never read the Plan prior to the Summit re: the replacement of NG presently used to generate electricity with power generated by wind and solar allowing that NG to be used to fuel trucks. The Speaker supports closing of coal power plants and converting them to clean burning NG. Today Green Peace was on the Capitol supporting the same concept. Environmentalist are supporting closing coal plants for new NG plants all over the country. Since coal powers about 50% of electrical generation and the Congress and states like CA refuse to explore additional reserves, I doubt if we are going to have the NG to power trucks. The Cap and Trade policy by the Obama Admin will insure the closure of coal plants. We sure are going to need a lot of wind out there. We do have a lot of wind here in Washington. Pelosi and Reid: Capitol Power Plant Should Switch to 100 Percent Natural Gas Washington, D.C.— Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following letter today to the Acting Architect of the Capitol, Stephen T. Ayers, asking that the Capitol Power Plant (CPP) use 100 percent natural gas for its operations. The leaders wrote: “The switch to natural gas will allow the CPP to dramatically reduce carbon and criteria pollutant emissions, eliminating more than 95 percent of sulfur oxides and at least 50 percent of carbon monoxide