Posted on 07/09/2008 7:30:40 AM PDT by Belasarius
One of the benefits of being around a long time is that you get to know a lot about certain things. I'm 80 years old and I've been an oilman for almost 60 years. I've drilled more dry holes and also found more oil than just about anyone in the industry. With all my experience, I've never been as worried about our energy security as I am now. Like many of us, I ignored what was happening. Now our country faces what I believe is the most serious situation since World War II.
The problem, of course, is our growing dependence on foreign oil – it's extreme, it's dangerous, and it threatens the future of our nation.
Let me share a few facts: Each year we import more and more oil. In 1973, the year of the infamous oil embargo, the United States imported about 24% of our oil. In 1990, at the start of the first Gulf War, this had climbed to 42%. Today, we import almost 70% of our oil.
This is a staggering number, particularly for a country that consumes oil the way we do. The U.S. uses nearly a quarter of the world's oil, with just 4% of the population and 3% of the world's reserves. This year, we will spend almost $700 billion on imported oil, which is more than four times the annual cost of our current war in Iraq.
In fact, if we don't do anything about this problem, over the next 10 years we will spend around $10 trillion importing foreign oil. That is $10 trillion leaving the U.S. and going to foreign nations, making it what I certainly believe will be the single largest transfer of wealth in human history.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I’m ok with wind power here in Kansas. I’m already seeing some windfarms out west. Smells better than feed lots. But I’m not sure I trust Mr. Pickens. He tried to buy our basketball coach.
T. Boone is trying to scare you because he’s jumping into the wind market in a big way. If he was serious he would be calling for nukes and clean coal. Instead he’s going with wind which is a perfect match for the hot air he’s expelling.
I live in a community of 1600 people and we have our first windmill, positioned near one of the schools. It is expected to completely power the three schools with energy left to sell. Sounds like a plan.
Exactly! Guys like T. Boone know how to make money and that is to drive markets. He's in the driver's seat of the wind farm market right.
Colorado shale oil is estaimted at 2 trillion barrels. ANWR with new seismic surveys probably holds upwards of 50-70 billion barrels. And God only knows what the restricted areas of the continental shelves hold. California offshore is loaded with crude oil.
Domestic drilling + coal + nuclear + other = we'll be fine.
I’m for wind...and everything else, so long as there are as few subsidies as possible.
But this statement, “Natural gas is the only domestic energy of size that can be used to replace oil used for transportation” I don’t think is accurate. Coal to liquid fuels could partially replace oil for transportation, as could other biofuels. And...just like the Panhandle to Canada is the “Saudi Arabia of wind” (interesting concept he invents here of “wind reserves”), there is probably 3 times the energy in coal in our ground than Saudi has in oil.
Then...add on top of that advances in renewable fuels (cellulosic, biodiesel), and THEN....open up OCS, Anwar, and make shale legal again. Throw up a bunch of nukes especially in the west. Even go ahead and do some of the green conservation crap just to make people feel better.
Really, there is not an energy problem that this country can’t solve. It’s just colossal stupidity, demagoguery and lack of will that has gotten us where we are.
Mr Pickens has put his money into wind and wants some return and will promote it.
Why not use all of our options!
Drill, clean coal, wind, solar, nuclear....my car doesn’t run on anything but oil related products but if we can shift some of our other energy needs to the other forms of energy we’d be in better shape. It can’t be a ‘this or that’ it’s got to be all the above!
Agreed. Since nukes and coal power generation are developed (and not “green”) he’s shifted his play to wind.
T. Boone always looks out for #1 first. He will make tons of money on his Mesa natural gas holdings, should we switch to natgas transportation.
He is also in the process of stealing scarce water from the Ogallala Aquifer in the Texas Panhandle and selling it to Dallas in a scheme that would net him multi-millions more. He did this by installing his cronies on the Water District board, thus assuring approval in spite of strong objections by ranchers. Some Republican congressmen from W TX are trying to block the project now.
When one deals with T. Boone, you’d better be aware of how he operates.
Not to mention 500 billion in the Bakken.
The second half of your post pre-empted mine, as well.
You are literaly correct in that “God only knows” what lies under OCS.
Interestingly, every time we are allowed to look it is always a LOT more than we thought (unlike Mexico and Saudi who are already on the downside of the curve).
Yep! I forgot that one!
Even if we drill in Anwar and off shore tomorrow it won’t solve our long term strategic needs.”
I’m not so sure.
I do think, as everyone here is saying, that we should do all of the above.
But the public needs to understand that Anwar OR off shore would be very, very big. Anwar PLUS offshore pretty well rips the heart out of OPEC.
So...drill, plus “all of the above” and we are truly energy independent.
“Why not? My understanding is we have enough domestic oil and natural gas resources to last hundreds of years.”
Oh sure!
That’s just if you consider hundreds of years to be “long term!” /s
>> T. Boone is trying to scare you because he’s jumping into the wind market in a big way. If he was serious he would be calling for nukes and clean coal.
Agreed. 2004 proposal to the Putas in Washington: 1/Drill in ANWR, 2/Drill offshore, 3/More nuke plants, 4/Clean coal for stationary power use, and 5/Back the EPA off a bit. Jorge Boosh, having shot his wad on the attempt at revising Social Security thing, did nothing. There are VERY few places where wind generators can be placed, especially in the Northeast.
btt
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.