Pickens praises senator's favoring natural gas as transportation fuel

March 1, 2009
Texas energy executive T Boone Pickens, the architect of The Pickens Plan to reduce US dependence on foreign oil, praised US Senate Majority Leader Harry

Texas energy executive T Boone Pickens, the architect of “The Pickens Plan” to reduce US dependence on foreign oil, praised US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently for comments advancing the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel for the nation's heavy-duty fleet vehicle market.

Pickens praised the comments in a special e-mail to the nearly 1.5 million members of “The New Energy Army” who have enlisted to help win support for the plan.

Pickens joined Reid and John Podesta, who heads up the Center for American Progress, in a special telephone conference call with reporters to call attention to an upcoming energy summit to highlight the nation's energy problems and to focus on near- and long-term solutions.

In the call, Reid highlighted natural gas as a domestic alternative to foreign oil/diesel in heavy duty fleet applications, a key element of “The Pickens Plan.” His remarks called for government leadership and support in making that happen.

Pickens, in an e-mail to The New Energy Army, said he's more optimistic than ever that leadership is developing within Washington, and in President Barack Obama's administration, to get serious about America's escalating dependence on foreign oil. He said that dependency, nearing the 70 percent mark, threatens America's national security and its economy.

Pickens noted that there are about six million heavy-duty vehicles in the United States, and that the nation can achieve a nearly 5 percent reduction in foreign oil/diesel use if just 350,000 begin using natural gas as a domestic alternative.

Related