<p>Got to do something. He also predicted $50/barrel oil some time ago - said we’d likely never see cheap oil again. Oil was about $25/barrel at the time.</p>
<p>Why should our “government pay attention to him.” ? What does our government know? If the government gets involved, then the project becomes another welfare project that gets studied to death. </p>
<p>Picken’s got the knowledge, wealth and connections to do what he wants to do. Warren B knows what he’s doing when he bought up my electric utility.</p>
<p>“Got to do something. He also predicted $50/barrel oil some time ago - said we’d likely never see cheap oil again. Oil was about $25/barrel at the time.”</p>
<p>Have to agree with LongPrime–why is Pickens advertising his knowledge? He does not need the federal gov’t backing him! I would be very careful as to how much he says is not for his own benefit. Seems to me he is courting a candidate to ensure monetary backing for his plan.</p>
<p>I saw a segment on World News Tonight (Tues, July 9th) on Pickens’ plan for harnessing wind energy, and I have to say I believe his motives are honorable. He insists that it’s not to make him richer: “I’m 84 years old and have 3 billion dollars. I don’t need any more money.” My guess is that, at 84, having made a fortune many times over, he is now looking toward the end of his life (which could happen tomorrow, at his advanced age), and thinking about his legacy. Heck, I’m only 51, and have been thinking a lot about what it is that I’ll have left behind in the world at the end of my days…</p>
<p>Have watched Boone Pickens on several business networks lately-I say go forth and let’s do it-solar, wind, geothermal, hydrogen, drilling. And for goodness sakes, look at Brazil as a model for energy independence. DH and I were watching one of the many TV shows airing this week about the US’s initial space program. The oldest person in the room in mission control during Apollo 11 was 36 and the average age during that mission ( of people working on the Space program) was 24. If all of us would demand that we focus our energies on breaking our dependence on foreign oil and think outside the box-just as we did when JFK set the moon mission as a goal-many of the problems we face would begin to pale in comparison to our current dilemma. Agree with poetsheart, Pickens doesn’t need any more money and if his ideas will propel us to move forward, I am glad for him to make a $ from his idea.</p>
<p>Aren’t the NE Liberals opposed to wind mills in their back yard or rather back sea?</p>
<p>Year round residents as well as summer residents expressed concerns over the siting of this project. Concerns included ruining the views from people’s private property as well as views from public property such as beaches (even though it would be about twenty or so miles offshore, people complained it would ruin their views of the horizon) and therefore decrease property values; ruining popular areas for yachting; and other environmental problems.</p>
<p>Eventually the case made its way to court. On May 11, 2005 the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (MEFSB) approved Wind Power’s application to build the wind farm. Opponents appealed the decision and on December 18, 2006 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the decision. [1]</p>
<p>Walter Cronkite was the subject of controversy as well when he originally came out against the wind farm but then changed his opinion.[2] Other opponents have included Sen. Ted Kennedy,[3] Sen. John Kerry and Gov. Mitt Romney</p>
<p>I find it funny (or pathetic) when all these people shout so much about global warming, but they are flying around in private jets and still living in 50,000 sq ft homes. I think they expect the “common” people to reduce their carbon footprints, so that they can enjoy their luxuries.</p>
<p>I think that there’s a lot of support in New England for the wind farm project. But it’s the wealthy landowners in the area that are against it. Perhaps Pickens wants laws put in place so that anyone can’t just tie up the wind farm in a lot of local issues.</p>
<p>That’s disgusting.—Though, I doubt that it was only the rich liberals (hypocrites that they are:rolleyes:) who opposed those windmills offshore. No doubt the rich conservatives worked behind the scenes to kill the proposal, too. Hey, people of means know that if anyone has to ration energy, it won’t be them—at least not before all the little people have to go without first.</p>
<p>Despite what Pickens suggests on his website, there really isn’t enough available wind power to solve the overall energy problems. The only real longterm solution to oil dependence (and to CO2 emissions) is nuclear power, and even that would require the building of a huge number of new nuclear plants, which is problematic for many reasons. I admire what he’s trying to do though, and more renewables is better than no renewables.</p>
<p>There is no single energy source that will solve all our energy problems. It will definitely require a multi-pronged approach: Wind, solar, bio-fuels (though not corn ethenol!), hydrogen, cheap and powerful batteries for electric cars, etc.) The point is that it should be our top national priority to become energy independent as soon as humanly possible. It’s absolutely imperative for our long term national security.</p>
<p>There are already a lot of wind farms in west Texas but the problem is the lack of an electrical grid to transport the power generated from the windmills to where the people are. I am not an expert on this at all but perhaps Mr. Pickens could pay for the needed infrastructure or perhaps North Dakota has the infrastructure and that is why they got mentioned. I listened to an interview on NPR with Pickens and the reporter acted like he had never heard of a wind farm.</p>