Gore's plan is expected to cost between $1.5 trillion and $3 trillion and involves investment in wind, solar and geothermal energy, energy efficiency and a national power grid. He also wants to retain energy production from nuclear and hydroelectric power plants, and invest in technology to store and capture carbon dioxide from coal and gas.
The “Pickens Plan,” calls for a massive switch to natural gas as a transportation fuel and a dramatic increase in wind power. Pickens says his $300 billion plan will reduce the amount of imported oil by more than a third in the next decade.
Pickens, a Texas oilman, is funding his own ad campaign and has commercials running on TV already. Gore has the backing of the “We Campaign,” a $300 million effort launched earlier.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press” this weekend, Gore said he disagrees with Pickens that natural gas should be the dominant transportation fuel, advocating for electric cars instead. Pickens, however, has said Gore’s plan doesn’t do enough address the nation’s dependence on oil imports.
above via Reuters
What is the Answer?There is much these men agree on and both plans stand in stark opposition to President Bush’s recent move to increase domestic oil production by lifting the ban on oil drilling along most U.S. coastal states.
4 comments:
I'm pretty sure the title of this post says it all. $300 million is a massive amount of money that could easily have been spend in research instead of in advertising. It's amazing to consider the money that is wasted in promotion of ideas - imagine the amount used in promotion of ideas that never see the light of day.
Frankly, I'd love to see a combination of the Pickens and Bush plans -- let's address our immediate needs while working toward weaning this nation off of oil as much as is practical.
Here's the danger, of course. Let's say (for argument's sake) that drilling domestic resources does cause prices to drop quite a bit. Will Americans be interested in continuing to explore alternatives or just be happy that gas is cheap right now?
One of the very few things that Carter was right about was that America is too dependent on oil. Back in the late 1970s, plans were made to get away from oil, but prices leveled and no one cared about new sources of energy until gas started costing $3 a gallon.
We don't need history to repeat itself in that regard. So, drill now and commit to research. Best of both worlds right there.
The Natural State Hawg
Oh, and you're Dugg!
The “Pickens Plan,” calls for a massive switch to natural gas as a transportation fuel. Pickens says his $300 billion plan will reduce the amount of imported oil by more than a third in the next decade.
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