Compressed Natural-Gas Cabs Now Fly 1st Class at D/FW Airport, Cutting to Front of Taxi Lines – Dallas Morning News – 11/6/09

Importing Oil, Money Hurts U.S. – Chicago Sun-Times – 11/5/09

T. Boone Pickens: Weening U.S. Off Foreign Oil a Security Issue – Naples Daily News – 11/3/09

T. Boone Pickens – KVII – 11/3/09

Unnatural Gas – McCook Daily Gazette – 11/3/09

And On the Seventh Day, the Lord Made Policy – The Daily O’Collegian – 11/3/09

Voice of the Future – The Daily O’Collegian – 11/3/09

LCCC Offers Green Degree, Hosts Green Jobs Day – The Chronicle-Telegram – 11/4/09

Guest Commentary: Natural-Gas-Powered Vehicles Should Drive U.S. Energy Policy – Naples Daily News – 11/3/09

End is Near – Stillwater NewsPress – 10/30/09

Pickens’ Energy Plan Lessens Dependence on Foreign Oil – The Norman Transcript – 11/1/09

Rep. Dan Boren’s Town Hall Calls Reach Many – The Oklahoman – 11/1/09

Utah’s Vital Role in the Nation’s Natural Gas Development – The Salt Lake Tribune – 10/30/09

Udall and Nukes: Senator Deserves Credit for Opening Discussion – Durango Herald News – 11/1/09

More than 4,300 people showed up to hear T. Boone Pickens explain the Pickens Plan to his alma mater at Oklahoma State University.

According to the Daily O’Collegian - the OSU daily campus newspaper - “In Pickens’ fifteenth town hall meeting nationwide, OSU had the largest turnout with a crowd of 4,300 people.”

In the article by reporters Gabby Hutchings and Valerie Pritchard Boone laid out the principles which have driven the Pickens Plan Army for the past 18 months.

“Today we’re importing 67 percent of our oil,” Pickens said. “If we don’t do anything in 10 years, we’ll be importing 75 percent and paying $300 a barrel for oil. We won’t have health care or education because there won’t be anything to go to those. This has nothing to do with politics; it’s about us. It’s our problem, and we’ve got to solve it.”

Boone talked about the need to expand the nation’s wind power capability. The reporters wrote:

Oklahoma is working to use wind as a viable source of energy for the state and hopes to expand to eventually service the whole country. Oklahoma has a team of researchers working on the Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative to set up wind farms statewide.

Boone called on OSU to get going with energy efficiency and alternative energy projects which are already on the drawing boards.

Ever Oklahoma State’s biggest booster, Boone said,

“There’s not going to be anyone who’s going to get ahead of OSU. We’ll be in the game, I can promise you that.”

To read the entire article about Boone at OSU (and the related articles) click HERE.

– The Pickens Team

Looking for leadership? Then look to Iowa, which has moved ahead of larger, traditional wind power states such as California and Washington to become the country’s second-largest wind power producer. Just last year, the state added an impressive 1,600 megawatts of wind capacity, an amount that pushed it past longtime leader California and makes it second only to Texas.

What’s even more amazing is that Iowa’s focus on developing domestic sources of alternative energy is nothing new. According to The Wall Street Journal, the state “began promoting renewable-energy sources as early as 1978, when, in response to the oil shock, it passed a property-tax exemption for wind, solar and other types of generators whose electricity was used on site. Then, in 1983, the state adopted the first renewable-energy mandate in the U.S., requiring that its investor-owned utilities draw power from 105 megawatts of renewable generation by 1990.”

This pro-active attitude by Iowans is now paying big dividends and has the determined support of governing bodies of all sizes and responsibilities. In fact, one of the primary reasons for the recent surge in the state’s wind energy production capacity has been the important role local and state governments have played in facilitating this growth. A combination of tax breaks, fewer zoning regulations, and lack of bureaucratic red tape make the Corn State fertile ground for alternative energy investments, a point that Journal reporter Yuliya Chernova emphasizes:

“… as more states and the federal government seek to encourage more production of renewable energy, Iowa may point the way.”

Property- and sales-tax exemptions for wind equipment make projects in Iowa also make the state more attractive economically. Yet according to a study completed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, each 1,000 megawatts of wind generation installed in Iowa has resulted in $6 million in property taxes for counties.

How serious is Iowa about ending America’s dependence on foreign oil?

What other state in the Union has its own Office of Energy Independence?

Man with a Plan – The Daily O’Collegian – 10/29/09

T. Boone Pickens Bringing His Town Hall Meeting To Stillwater – KOTV – 10/28/09

Natural Gas Shut Out of Debate – The Oklahoman – 10/29/09

Tiberi was Right to Support Natural Gas Act of 2009 – Newark Advocate – 10/29/09

Pickens to Speak at OSU – KSBI – 10/27/09

Natural Gas Producers Continue Push for Incentives in Climate Bill – Dallas Morning News Blog – 10/28/09

For almost a year, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has been advocating that his city go with domestic natural gas as the fuel of choice to power Dallas’s mass transit system. According to the mayor, choosing natural gas would be an outstanding way for the city to brand itself as environmentally friendly and forward-looking. He also recognized that such a decision would have America’s best interests at heart by helping the country to end its addiction to foreign oil.

On Tuesday, Mayor Leppert got his wish. The board of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system voted to solicit bids for 600 new natural gas-powered buses, a fleet that will be at the heart of the city’s next generation of public transportation. No bids will be solicited from diesel manufacturers.

Although the cost of new natural gas-powered fleet was estimated to be more than a similar one running on diesel, the savings from using domestically produced natural gas more than offset the higher cost.

According to the Dallas Morning News, “the vote came two weeks after staff members reversed course from last December, and recommended buying the natural gas buses. They cited falling natural gas prices as the reason they no longer think diesel buses are the best buy, despite more than $100 million in construction funds that will have to be borrowed upfront to pay for the conversion to a natural-gas fleet.”

Read the complete story HERE.

President Barack Obama has pledged $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the nation’s power grid.

According to an Associated Press article written by reporter Chuck Babbington, the President “likened the effort to the ambitious development of the national highway system 50 years ago. He said modernization would lead to a ’smarter, stronger and more secure electric grid.’”

Development of a 21st century grid has been a centerpiece of the Pickens Plan. It will allow existing sources of electricity to be moved more efficiently around the country, and will enhance the development of news sources of energy - largely wind and solar - by making possible to get the energy from where it is being produced to where it is needed.

The grants will be to about 100 projects where were selected from 400 submitted. According to the AP, “The projects include installing ’smart’ electric meters in homes, automating utility substations, and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors.”

The money is part of the stimulus package which was approved by Congress in January. Babbington reports,

The $3.4 billion in grants from the government’s January economic stimulus program will be matched by $4.7 billion in private investments. The smallest grant will be $400,000 and the largest $200 million.

To read the entire Associated Press article, go HERE.

– The Pickens Team

T. Boone Pickens Talks about Energy Independence at Notre Dame – WNDU – 10/26/09

DART to Hold Final Vote Tonight on Natural Gas Buses – Dallas Morning News Transportation Blog – 10/27/09

Pickens Discusses Energy – The Observer (ND Student Newspaper) – 10/27/09

How to Make Money in the Wind Industry – Washington Examiner – 10/26/09

T. Boone Pickens spoke on the campus of Notre Dame University yesterday in South Bend, Indiana. According to an article in the South Bend Tribune by Margaret Fosmoe, Boone told the students:

“The United States can no longer afford to rely on foreign sources for most of its energy needs. The credibility of the U.S. suffers every day we import 70 percent of our oil.”

Boone told the students at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center that “world oil production has just about peaked” and “as production declines, prices will continue to rise.”

Fosmoe wrote, “The best solution, he said, is to reduce dependence on foreign oil by increasing domestic use of natural gas.”

To read the entire article from the South Bend Tribune, click HERE.

– The Pickens Team

Alaska’s abundant natural gas reserves have the potential to generate untold opportunities for citizens of the Last Frontier as well as help the Lower 48 end its dependence on imported oil. These factors and numerous others have led the tenth governor of Alaska, Sean Parnell, to emphasize this cleaner burning domestic fuel as a key priority for his state.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Parnell has put his weight behind a proposed pipeline project that would connect the enormous gas reserves found in the North Slope to markets in the contiguous U.S. The pipeline faces substantial hurdles, including its price tag: a whopping $30 billion. But Gov. Parnell recognizes the long-term potential of the pipeline from both an economic development standpoint as well as its strategic importance.

The governor is also looking to increase ways to deliver greater quantities of natural gas to Alaskans, who, despite the state’s abundant resources, have limited access. The state’s enormous size and surprisingly small population are key detriments to greater availability.

Could these be some of the many reasons the governor’s approval rating has rocketed to a stellar 80 percent?

8 OVER 80 – Fortune – 11/9/09

T. Boone Pickens Hits Road with Energy Plan – The Oklahoman – 10/25/09

Join us for Pickens Plan Town Hall at OSU – Stillwater NewsPress – 10/24/09

Pickens Says Energy Policy Coming – Stillwater NewsPress – 10/24/09

Contributor – Lawrence Journal-World – 10/24/09

T. Boone Pickens to Speak at Notre Dame – WNDU – 10/26/09

Congressional Members Join Natural Gas Caucus – Shreveport Times – 10/24/09

T. Boone Pickens on Iraq: ‘We Leave There with the Chinese Getting the Oil’ – WorldTribune.com – 10/23/09

Putting Michigan Back to Work: The First Steps – The Michigan News – 10/26/09

3 Reasons to Sell United States Oil Today – Motley Fool – 10/26/09

Natural Gas Getting Fired Up – The Independent Weekly – 10/26/09