T-Boonedoggle?

I’ve got nothing against T. Boone Pickens and other billionaires capitalizing on an industry they build with their own funds. I applaud his plan to build more wind farms. However, after raking in billions in the petroleum industry, does he really need our tax money to subsidize his making more billions in the wind industry? Let's use our tax dollars to help the average American and fund energy solutions while also addressing climate change, with both wind and solar.

Back in the 1970’s when the US was introduced to the effects of peak oil, President Jimmy Carter began addressing our growing dependency on foreign oil. Then in1981, Ronald Reagan, as his first official act, removed Carter’s solar panels from the White House roof, along with the former President’s renewable resource development plan. This set the stage for United States energy policies to regress, again based on polluting and depleting fossil fuels.

So, instead of developing an alternative energy industry, the Reagan/Bush administration allowed energy cartels to rake in more wealth from oil, coal and natural gas. Clinton’s energy policy didn’t help much either. Then in 2001, the Bush/Cheney oil cartel gleefully escalated the coming disaster. "We need an energy bill that encourages consumption," said George W Bush in Trenton, NJ, on September 23, 2002.

We now find ourselves in exactly the place Carter warned us about in 1977, when he said, "If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions."

Enter oil, gas and water billionaire T. Boone Pickens who wants the US taxpayers to pay for transmission infrastructure for a huge wind farm he intends to build in West Texas. For sure, Pickens is correct when he says we can’t drill our way out of this hole our leaders, both corporate and government, have led us into. And he, of all people, should know. Now we had better pay close attention to this, because Pickens is one of those leaders.

How about taxpayer funds be used to fund individual homeowners and small business owners, schools and other state and local government entities, who are already connected to the grid. With subsidies to fund solar and wind technology, the typical American’s tax dollar is spent on a renewable resource that can then be sold to the energy companies and sent back to them on the existing grid. Aunt Millie in California might finally get some reparation from the Enron rape.

The American taxpayer deserves a break and this just might be a way of turning around this energy/climate boondoggle. I’m not foolish enough to think this is a final solution for our energy problems but it sure might be a start to getting us on the right track. We could even use a windfall tax on energy companies to subsidize the weaning of America from carbon-based fuel with solar panels and wind turbines on individual taxpayer owned properties.

Wind power is truly a great resource. We should be using lot’s more of it. And solar, biomass and geothermal, etc. But, please ask yourself why US taxpayers should foot the bill for oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens, so he can connect his intended wind farm to government subsidized transmission line infrastructure. Heck, at this point his financial statement is not bleeding red ink like the US Treasury.

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Kay Lucas,

his proposal, wonderful philanthropist that he is? HA! He can subsidize it himself. I was so thrilled that a wind farm is in the works here in NC because I want an alternative to DUKE Energy and DUKE anything else! Guess what? DUKE has already bought all the rights to the wind farm.

The rich keep getting richer.....

I was wondering if he was running his ad in other states yet. So I guess you've seen it in N.C.
The thing is, the corporations expect subsidizing. But yell loudly about 'welfare' for the poor.
My local paper in Waco will be running this column soon. But I'm concerned that many sheeple will fall for this.

is to not let another Texas oil man get away with more swindles without speaking up and opposing them.

The man is drinking our milkshake, literally. The Oglala sits under eight states and once it's gone, it's gone.

For a simple overview, watch the video on ViroPOP's front page:

http://www.viropop.com/

And now he wants us to help him rake in more $$ on another one of his enterprizes. There is no shame among the sleezy rich.