Lots of news this Monday! T. Boone Pickens has had an op-ed published in the Washington Times newspaper in Washington, DC.
In it, Boone reminds us all about the amount of money we are sending overseas for foreign oil:
If OPEC is successful in reaching its target price per barrel in 2009, reported to be about $75 per barrel, the United States will spend about $350 billion on foreign oil. That number will be repeated – if not exceeded – year-after-year until we do something to reduce our dependence on imported oil.
In fact, in 2008 we spent about $475 Billion on foreign oil. Keep in mind that is $125 BILLION more than the Congress has released as part of the bailout package which was passed last fall!
In the op-ed, Boone lays out the rationale for the Pickens Plan including the need to build out our wind and solar capacity, the need to move heavy trucks from imported diesel to domestic natural gas and the need to upgrade the insulation in homes and commercial buildings.
Boone points out that every dollar we send to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East is a dollar which could – and should – be spent right here at home:
These steps must be taken as a coordinated program -a program which will diminish our dependence on foreign oil and provide more funding for crucial domestic activities.
To read the entire essay, click HERE.
— The Pickens Team