What a Difference a Decade Makes
T. Boone Pickens
Memorial account for T. Boone Pickens, 1928-2019. This account is now being maintained by TBP Foundation team members.
Remember $4 gas? I sure do. That was the summer of 2008. Those were the days when we imported two-thirds of our oil. It was a bad deal for consumers and bad for America. I was reminded of those days by my good friend Fred Smith. Most people know Fred as the president and CEO of FedEx Corp, a $42 billion business that handles nine million shipments in 220 countries every business day.
Fred also happens to be co-chair of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), an organization that I support, whose mission is Securing America’s Future Energy. Like me, Fred recognizes the critical necessity of getting America the energy plan it deserves. Through SAFE, he and other high-level CEOs formed the Energy Security Leadership Council with eight retired generals and admirals. Fred will be the first to tell you that several of these distinguished officers spent much of their careers protecting the shipping lanes that carry crude oil from the Middle East to American shores.
The Energy Security Leadership Council developed three recommendations for our country, and all three are right on target:
1. Produce as much energy domestically as possible
2. Use less energy overall.
3. Develop alternative energy sources.
The good news is that this plan is working. Thanks to advances in technology and the development of domestic energy sources, oil imports have dropped from a peak of more than 13 million barrels in 2006 to less than 5 million barrels. (Figures from EIA through October 2016) Today, the U.S. has more oil and gas reserves than the rest of the world.
But there is more work to be done, as Fred points out in this podcast hosted by Chris Spear, president of American Trucking Associations. Advances in battery technology are real game changers, and the possibilities with natural gas are mind-boggling. Natural gas has long been recognized as the cleanest hydrocarbon, and now Cummins has developed a natural-gas engine that produces 90 percent less nitrous oxide emissions.
Take a page from Fred’s book: Cleaner, cheaper domestic natural gas will go a long way to driving down costs as well as enhancing America’s energy security.
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Partner, Investor, MB Alekso Namai.
7 年A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.
retired
7 年Thank God for fracking which DOES NOT cause earthquakes or spills.
Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Rutgers University–Camden
8 年Of course, producing more energy is of benefit to the producers (in the short-run, and only up to a point), and it surely benefits the consumer (in the short-run), but, I'm kinda hopin' that we (that is, the U. S. of A.) are in business for the long run. What about the long run? (Yeah -- I know: in the long run, we're all dead -- but that's for people, not for nations)
Owner/Founder at FIXiT Home Repairs
8 年Well let's see... I am currently working on solutions for your items 2 & 3. the Natural gas home filling station that allows 4gge filling speeds is a near reality. The largest consumer of electricity in most areas of our country is mechanical air conditioning. My current solution is in the testing stage, to be integrated into existing systems to significantly reduce electric demand, especially during peak hours... Instead of reacting to heat loads, the special controller board will anticipate and pre-cool the home while the temperatures are low. According to historical data large parts of the country can benefit from this technique. Looking for investors...