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While wind power is an inadequate source to supplant fossil fuels as a national energy strategy it may well make sense on a local level. It works well to augment traditional sources like hydro or coal where there is implicit storage in water not lowered or fuel not burned. Many New England states are comparable to Holland in terms of area to coastline which is a great place for wind-power generation. I am not against wind power, it is a viable part of a total energy policy; it is not, however, by itself nearly adequate for this country and its huge appetite.

Amen Froggy

That a politician stands to make money wouldnt surprise me. After all, we have Iraq and Haliburton as a good example.

The thing is, Pickens didn't call wind power "THE Plan", he called it "Step #1". Leo quoted a Cal Tech study at about 15%, Pickens quoted a Department of Energy report at 20% when figuring how much of the nations energy could come from wind. Those numbers aren't a huge discrepancy, so it wouldn't be too far off to consider that accurate.

And it is a great first step. It could never be a complete answer to our oil problem, but he doesn't claim that it is.

What could be his agenda behind doing it? Could it make him even richer than he is? Sure. Like WS said, he's an oil magnate, but unlike other oil based billionaires, he's looking away from oil.

When the market crashed he went in and bought stock at $1 a share, and he encouraged others to do the same. Yeah, it made him a load of money, but he also knew it was what needed to be done to help turn the market around. Buying stock drives the prices up.

He isn't running for office, so he isn't trying to win the tree-hugger vote. He could make money off of it, but he's also sinking a lot of money into it. And it isn't such an original plan that it's of the "snake oil" variety, places like Sweetwater, Texas and Greensburg, Kansas are already implementing it.

All he's doing is trying to push a simple working starter plan to a national level, and it's better than all of the drilling more here and buying more there stuff we're hearing from Washington.

I'm sure Step #2 will have to do with solar, I'm just curious if it will be up to Pickens to start the ball rolling again, or if another from his tax bracket, like Trump or Gates, will pick up the slack.

Our energy problems don't have a singular big fix, it will have to be done in steps. It doesn't take a billionaire to see it, just to push it.

*Yes, I admire Pickens, have for a long time. He was a primary example for my econ classes. =D

I have to agree with just-a-writer. You are right on with your comments. Does the expression "you can't take it with you" come to mind at all when people say Mr Pickens just wants to make money off his plan? Well as he has said many times "I have plenty of money, more than enough for a man in his 80's"

Myself even if money was to be invested toward a plan that would give T.Boone Pickens more money to pad his coffin, that would be better than pouring money into the oil mongers pockets.

I urge you all to visit www.pickensplan.com and read for yourself why over a quarter of a million of us feel that he just may be the catalyst for the movement we need in this country to get a grip on which fight we pick worth fighting for.

Change is in the wind, literally !!!! We all need stop pointing fingers and looking for ulterior motives and use that energy for helping to achieve positive change in our habits as a nation.