Only Natural: Bi-Fuel Conversion with Compressed Natural Gas “Is the Wave of the Future.” – Tulsa World – 2/7/10

Friday, Pickens Plan Georgia Leader Sam Fleet met with former Congressman Bob Barr. During their meeting, Congressman Barr signed the Pickens Pledge for Energy Independence. One day at a time, with every new army member, we are making progress and moving toward victory.

Great job Sam!

-Team Pickens

Bill Winters shows a CNG conversion on a Ford Focus at the Jim Norton Dealership in Broken Arrow. Stephen Pingry © Tulsa World

Compressed natural gas costs between $1 and $1.50 per gallon of gas equivalent, and the greenhouse gases that are emitted through your car’s exhaust pipe are nearly zero. Better yet, it has an octane rating approaching 130 and powers the same engine more efficiently than gasoline or diesel engines. Is it any wonder more and more Americans are converting their own vehicles to run on this cheaper, cleaner burning domestic fuel?

Read more HERE.

T. Boone Pickens recently accepted an award for Public Service from the American Security Council Foundation. Watch the first video for New York Governor George Pataki’s introduction speech and the second video for Boone’s acceptance speech.

T. Boone Pickens: The Oil Crisis Isn’t Over – Peak Oil – 2/4/10

Nat Gas Could Cut OPEC Oil Use In Half By 2020 – Benzinga – 2/4/10

T. Boone’s Natural Gas Crusade – Energy & Capital – 2/4/10

Oh, the Weather Outside Is … Historic – CNSNews.com – 2/5/10

Did Oil Just Bottom? (OIH, VLO, BHI) – 24/7 Wall Street – 2/5/10

The Oil Crisis Isn’t Over – The Motley Fool – 2/3/10

Enbridge Cashes in on Green – Calgary Sun – 2/3/10

To Support Growing CNG Fleet, Yellow Cab Chicago Building 2 Fueling Stations – Environmental Leader – 2/2/10

Ted Turner and Southern Company Announce Alliance for Renewable Energy Ventures – Energy Boom – 2/3/10

5 Stocks Approaching Greatness – Motley Fool – 2/2/10

Institutional Interest Surging In These Stocks – Investopedia – 2/3/10

Media pioneer Ted Turner has announced a strategic alliance with Atlanta-based Southern Company to pursue development of renewable energy projects in the Southwestern United States.

“I’ve always been passionate about developing renewable energy, and I’m excited to join forces with Southern Company to explore our renewable energy potential,” said Turner, who owns Turner Renewable Energy. With more than 2 million acres, Turner is also the largest private landowner in the U.S.

“Southern Company’s experience in power project development, construction and operations, and customer relations help make this a strong alliance, and I look forward to working together,” he added.

Turner Renewable Energy and Southern Company will focus on developing and investing in large scale solar photovoltaic projects in the Desert Southwest with the goal of further commercializing the technology and making it more cost competitive.

“This alliance unites our common goal to explore and develop new renewable energy projects,” said Southern Company CEO David Ratcliffe. “We have said for some time that renewable energy should play an increasing role in this country’s energy mix and that Southern Company would seek opportunities to expand our renewable portfolio where it makes sense. This is evidence of that commitment.”

Read more HERE.

Louisiana’s Shale Gas Bonanza – Financial Times – 1/30/10

It’s Not Blowing In The Wind – American Thinker – 2/1/10

Fuel Systems: Is Gas Tank Half Empty or Half Full? – Seeking Alpha – 2/1/10

Who Puts The “Conserve” In Conservative? – Greenopolis.com – 1/30/10

Buffett’s Sephamore Signal: Should Burlington Northern Shareholders Think Again Before Saying ‘Yes’ To Berkshire Hathaway? – GuruFocus – 2/1/10

For Auto Industry, All Roads Lead to Orlando – Orlando Sentinel – 1/29/10

Cramer React to SOTU: Notes Nat Gas Ignored by Obama; Defends Geithner – NewsBusters – 1/28/10

Russia’s Gazprom Angel or Demon? – The Market Oracle – 1/29/10

(Brendan Hoffman © Getty Images)

In his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama said that “no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy.” I couldn’t agree more.

One of my secrets over my 81 years has been to look ahead and not just plan for the best, but work hard to make “the best” the only possible outcome. Sometimes “the best” has been harder and taken longer than I originally thought it should, but I get there with determination.

When I began the Pickens Plan about 18 months ago, oil was just about at its peak of $147 per barrel. I went on the air talking about sending $700 billion a year overseas to pay for our imported oil and just about every candidate for president - including the winner - picked up the chant: Reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Then came the financial crisis, the recession deepened, and oil prices collapsed to about $32 a barrel. With so much else to think about, and to deal with, foreign oil fell off the front pages and out of political speeches.

I haven’t stopped working, and neither have the 1.6 million members of the Pickens Plan Army. I have continued to tour the country making speeches, appearing on news and business TV shows, doing radio interviews and visiting members of the House and Senate. Oil has now rebounded to more than $80 per barrel, and the numbers just released by the U.S. government show we imported more than 4 billion barrels last year at a cost of about a third of a trillion dollars. That works out to approximately $1 billion every workday of the year.

Our latest ad begins with the words, “Go back to sleep America, the oil crisis is over,” written in Arabic script. The oil crisis is not over. We continue to import nearly 70 percent of the oil we use, and two thirds of that is used as a transportation fuel: gasoline for our 230 million cars, SUVs and pickups; and diesel for our more than 8.5 million trucks and bus fleets.

Every mile we drive takes money out of our economy and puts much of it into the economies of countries that don’t like us. And the people who hate us - those terrorists with whom, President Obama has proclaimed, we are at war - know that our addiction to foreign oil is America’s strategic Achilles’ heel.

The fact is: We can reduce our need for foreign oil virtually immediately by beginning to fuel heavy-duty fleets with the enormous reserves of natural gas that have been identified in the continental United States. Largely due to advances in drilling technology, the vast amounts of natural gas - over 100 years’ supply - that is contained in the shale deposits in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Appalachia can be safely and commercially recovered.

There are 10 million natural gas powered vehicles (NGVs) on the world’s roads, a tiny percentage of which are in use in the U.S. Why? Cheap gas. Every time we get a head of steam up for replacing our traditional internal combustion engines with a safer, cleaner fuel, the price of oil drops, we forget the pain, and we go right back to our oil-burning ways.

By transitioning even a small percentage of America’s heavy-duty vehicles from burning foreign diesel to American natural gas, we can in short order strengthen U.S. national security, enhance our economic security, and create and save American jobs.

The House and Senate have legislation in committee and ready for action: the Nat Gas Act. In the House, it is H.R. 1835. In the Senate, it is S. 1408. The bills provide tax breaks for the purchase of vehicles that will run on natural gas. These companion bills have bipartisan support in both chambers. That alone makes the Nat Gas Act unique.

Every president since Richard Nixon has promised to address the national security crisis associated with our ever-escalating dependence on foreign oil, but none has.

President Obama has a unique opportunity in history to change that.

This opinion originally ran at AOL News.

Opinion: Energy Independence Is Within Reach – AOL – 1/28/10

Natural Gas Industry Needs to Pay Attention to the State of the Union Address – Fort Worth Business Press – 1/27/10

The Energy Oracle Says Obama Speech Will Contain “Clues and Cues” About Natural Gas Vehicles – Dallas Morning News Blog – 1/27/10

Obama Speech: Nukes, Offshore Drilling and No Love for Cap-and-Trade – BNET – 1/28/10

Obama’s State of the Union: The Energy Industry’s Policy, Investment Barometer for 2010 – BNET – 1/27/10

How Sandridge Natural Gas Could Turn Oklahoma City Into an Urban Hot Spot – Fast Company Blog – 1/28/10

These 5 Underdogs Are No Dogs – Motley Fool – 1/27/10

Economides Sees Fossil Fuels Remaining Key for U.S. – WTRF – 1/28/10

Thursday in DC: DOE Chief to Deliver Green Car Loan Announcement – Earth2Tech – 1/27/10

US Wind Energy Industry Enjoys Record 2009 – Business Green – 1/28/10

Wind Power Grows 39% for the Year – Cap Cod Today – 1/28/10

U.S. Wind Power Capacity Up in 2009 – Reuters – 1/26/10

Foreign Demand May Drive Gasoline to $3 a Gallon – Dallas Morning News – 1/27/10

Break Like the Wind: Turbine Industry Is Turbo-Charged – Fast Company Blog – 1/27/10

Transmission Holds US Wind Power Back Despite 2009 Record – Risk.net – 1/27/10

Join California District Leaders Wayne Bowser and John Wesley Nobles as they interview T. Boone Pickens live on The Green Revolution Show this Thursday, January 28th at 1:00PM CT.  Boone will be talking about the NAT GAS Act.

The Green Revolution Show can be streamed live online here.

The U.S. added enough wind power in 2009 to serve an estimated 2.4 million homes. Almost 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity came online, an amount that brings the nation’s total wind power generating capacity to over 35,000 MW.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, wind power and natural gas combined to account for the lion’s share - about 80 percent - of the new electricity generation added nationwide in 2009.

America’s wind power fleet will avoid an estimated 62 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 10.5 million cars off the road.

Read more HERE.