Ain't no wind in T. Boone Pickens' sails

[DogPoundPup]

snip...

How does Pickens plan to get Republicans to support that kind of investment in renewables? In essence, he doesn't have an answer, other than trying to make "both Republicans and Democrats understand that this is not a partisan issue."

This is where Pickens' quixotic quest collapses, and reveals that he is not willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Pickens just can't bring himself to oppose the people who mock and block his plan, the people whose policies he says will leave this country "forever crippled." In fact, he keeps throwing money at them.

In the year ending June 30, Pickens has given nearly $100,000 to Republican Party candidates and organizations, but nothing -- zilch -- to the Democratic Party. He has thrown $38,500 to the Republican National Committee and $14,250 to the National Republican Senatorial Campaign, even though the Senate failed to stop a filibuster by the Republicans who were blocking the renewable energy tax credits that Pickens knows we desperately need. Heck, Pickens has given $4,600, the maximum allowed by law, to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the global warming denier who opposes all alternatives to fossil fuels.

And then there's the man Pickens has said he is supporting for president, John McCain. The Arizonan has been one of the most consistent opponents of renewable electricity in the Senate, even though his state has some of the largest renewable resources in the country. In the past year, McCain missed eight straight votes on renewable tax credits; his spokesman made clear he would've voted against the tax credits had he bothered to show up. McCain, whose views on many subjects are as backward as could be, told Grist last year that it is nuclear power, not solar and wind power, that deserves government subsidies. He told a town hall in New Hampshire:

"When you say wind, solar and tide, most every expert that I know says that, if you maximize that in every possible way, the contribution that that would make given the present state of technology is very small, is very small. It's not a large contribution ... The truly clean technologies don't work."

OK, you might say, McCain lives in a bubble like President Bush, surrounded by out-of-touch "experts" stuck in the 1970s. Surely a conservative oilman like Pickens could change his mind. Guess again. Here's McCain at a recent town hall meeting in Michigan:

This is where Mr. Pickens and I disagree a little bit ... We all love solar. Is there anybody that doesn't love solar power? But when we look at the actual contributions, compared with the increased demand for energy that's gonna be part of America in the next 20 years, it does not meet much of those demands.

An important aside: If McCain believes what he is saying about clean technology, then his plan to require the United States to cut fossil fuel emissions 60 percent to 70 percent in four decades is obviously a fraud, aimed at capturing the votes of gullible independents.

If you back McCain and the GOP, then you must want energy policies that will leave this country forever crippled economically, forever vulnerable to the whims of the oil-producing nations like Russia, Venezuela and the Persian Gulf states. Until Pickens puts his money behind progressive politicians, then his quest for progressive policies will remain an impossible dream.
http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/08/28/t_boone_pickens/index.html

[wtmusic]

1. How does pushing nuclear

"leave this country forever crippled economically, forever vulnerable to the whims of the oil-producing nations like Russia, Venezuela and the Persian Gulf states"?

Don't make me defend McCain. Ever. Again. :grr:

[DogPoundPup]

2. That's just crazy. If you want to defend nuclear and McWorse,

don't try making that as being my fault. :wtf:

Repeated higlight of topic of the posted article:

"The oil tycoon's support of John McCain for president demonstrates that his heavily advertised plan for wind power is only hot air."

<McCain, whose views on many subjects are as backward as could be, told Grist last year that it is nuclear power, not solar and wind power, that deserves government subsidies. He told a town hall in New Hampshire:

"When you say wind, solar and tide, most every expert that I know says that, if you maximize that in every possible way, the contribution that that would make given the present state of technology is very small, is very small. It's not a large contribution ... The truly clean technologies don't work."

OK, you might say, McCain lives in a bubble like President Bush, surrounded by out-of-touch "experts" stuck in the 1970s. Surely a conservative oilman like Pickens could change his mind. Guess again. Here's McCain at a recent town hall meeting in Michigan:

This is where Mr. Pickens and I disagree a little bit ... We all love solar. Is there anybody that doesn't love solar power? But when we look at the actual contributions, compared with the increased demand for energy that's gonna be part of America in the next 20 years, it does not meet much of those demands.

Pickens believes wind by itself could pretty much meet all those demands -- as does the Bush administration's own Department of Energy. >