We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • CSCMP EDGE 2023
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • CSCMP EDGE 2023
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Undaunted, Boone Pickens continues to stump for natural gas, wind energy
newsworthy

Undaunted, Boone Pickens continues to stump for natural gas, wind energy

May 13, 2011
Susan K. Lacefield
No Comments

T. Boone Pickens, head of the energy-oriented investment firm BP (Boone Pickens) Capital Management, sees the world's pending oil crisis in pretty stark black-and-white terms.

"We are dependent on the enemy for oil," Pickens said in Dallas during his keynote address at the ninth annual shipper symposium sponsored by Frisco, Texas-based third-party logistics company Transplace.

"The enemy" in Pickens' eyes is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, commonly known as OPEC. Pickens even went so far as to assert that oil purchased from OPEC finds its way to Taliban forces loyal to the al Qaeda terrorist organization.

"I don't think [OPEC nations] are friends of ours," he said. "They have oil, and we want it, so we naturally do business with each other. But they are not our friends."

Pickens was at the symposium as part of the ongoing push for his "Pickens Plan," which calls for investing $1 trillion in wind farms that would eventually replace natural gas as a primary energy source. Natural gas supplies would then be freed up to power trucks and other heavy-duty equipment. The overarching objective is to wean the U.S. off its dependence on foreign oil.

Pickens believes the United States has a 100- to 200-year supply of natural gas due in part to recent successes in developing large fields of shale gas. "Natural gas is cheaper, cleaner, and more abundant than oil," said Pickens.

Pickens noted that many municipalities have begun to switch their fleets of buses, garbage trucks, and other equipment to natural gas. However, he said the freight transport sector must buy in to the concept for it to truly gain traction.

"Yesterday, I spoke to the trash guys," Pickens told the audience at the Transplace symposium. "They use 2 billion gallons of oil [a year]. You use 35 billion gallons."

Pickens' plan has been dismissed by some as too costly and, from the standpoint of using wind power as a primary energy source, logistically and technologically unfeasible. It received substantial media exposure during the 2008 spike in oil prices, but fell off the radar after oil prices plunged in the 2008-09 downturn.

Pickens cited data showing that the U.S. consumes 25 percent of the world's oil production, and imports 65 percent of its oil, with 38 percent of that coming from OPEC nations.

"This is a huge transfer of wealth, the greatest in the history of mankind," said Pickens. "And it doesn't have to happen. We have resources in America that could offset our imports of 5 million barrels a day from OPEC."

In his speech, Pickens framed his plan as both an economic necessity and a patriotic call to arms.

"I'm asking you to investigate, look and see, because you might find that it's substantially cheaper, one, and two, you're on domestic fuel, so we're fixing two problems at one time," he said.

Pickens' company Clean Energy Fuels, which provides natural gas fuel for transportation, was the Symposium's signature sponsor.

Transportation Trucking Green Logistics
KEYWORDS Transplace
    • Related Articles

      Stepping on the gas: interview with T. Boone Pickens

      Pickens says converting truck fleets to natural gas will "knock out" 70 percent of OPEC's imports

      Clean Energy, Total in accord to fund difference between diesel, natural gas trucks

    Susanlacefield
    Susan Lacefield has been working for supply chain publications since 1999. Before joining DC VELOCITY, she was an associate editor for Supply Chain Management Review and wrote for Logistics Management magazine. She holds a master's degree in English.

    Recent Articles by Susan Lacefield

    Not enough bodies

    AI-powered bots help Rohlik Group meet “60 minutes or less” delivery promise

    Take your aphorisms with a side of salt

    You must login or register in order to post a comment.

    Report Abusive Comment

    Most Popular Articles

    • Warehouse renters could see “significant” rate increases in 2024, Prologis says

    • MercuryGate acquires cross-border customs clearance specialist ITS

    • DHL Supply Chain to add five more AS/RS installations from AutoStore

    • A new outlook that’s a lot like the old outlook

    • Yes, your SMB can afford AMRs

    Now Playing on DCV-TV

    A2dc9fd0 dba7 497d 8bf9 ea8d18ec63fa

    Getting Gamers and Geeks Their Ecom Even Faster: Newegg and Geekplus

    DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    Geekplus has partnered with electronics giant Newegg to get consumers their PC accessories, gaming gear and lifestyle technology orders faster than ever before. In Newegg's newly automated 245,000 sqft warehouse in Ontario, California, Geekplus robots manage more than 20,000 SKUs. The warehouse ships thousands of...

    FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

    • Exploring Forklift Energy Solutions for Maximum ROI

    • Identifying How Sortation Automation Can Address Challenges for Parcel Processors

    • Unlocking efficiency and growth

    • Quarterly Freight Data Report: Q3 2023

    View More

    Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

    GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • NEWSLETTERS
    • ADVERTISING
    • CUSTOMER CARE
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT
    • STAFF
    • PRIVACY POLICY

    Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing