Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens stopped by “The Big Tent,” the Google-sponsored work site for new media, to share his thoughts about how to reduce American dependence on foreign oil.
“My greatest concern is that we are now importing almost 70 percent of our oil,” Mr. Pickens said. “We can’t afford it. It is costing us four and a half times the cost of the war in Iraq. If we go 10 years without doing anything, it is going to cost us 10 trillion dollars. We won’t have to worry about health care or education. We won’t be able to afford it.”
Mr. Pickens’ plan involves harnessing wind and solar power and relying on natural gas to replace foreign oil.
Mr. Pickens recently has recently met with President Bush and presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain to talk energy.
“I am totally nonpartisan,” Mr. Pickens said. “It is all about America. I spoke with Al Gore, and I told him: ‘I have to reduce 70 percent of energy use for this country. If I have any energy left, I will work on global warming.’”
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