Will you be on domestic energy within 8 years?
The PickensPlan, which is a true plan for energy independence in the USA, started in July 2008 during the Presidential race between Obama, McCain, and HRC. At the time, it was about using renewable wind energy as the bridge for making the US less dependent on foreign oil. About a year into this, the Plan shifted from using wind energy as the bridge and now natural gas is that stepping stone.
To give you an idea of how things were at the time, the US was consuming 21 million barrels per day (BPD), most of which is for transportation purposes. That is 25% of total global production of oil by only 4% of the world’s population. Of those 21M barrels, 13M are imported, 5M of which come from OPEC, which Pickens and many others have dutifully classified as OUR ENEMEY.
This month Pickens explains his plan to eliminate the 5M BPD from OPEC, first by targeting the 8 million 18-wheelers in the US to convert to natural gas (CNG) which would amount to 2.5M BPD. According to Pickens, this conversion could be accomplished in 7 years. Doing this would put Obama on schedule to “cut all imports of oil from the Mideast in 10 years”, a claim Obama made during his run for presidency.
All this is outlined on the 10:48 video below of T. Boone Pickens on his whiteboard, a follow-up to the day he got started in July 2008.
If you are reading this, take a moment to consider what’s in front of you. Here is a man, an oil man at that, who has essentially dedicated the rest of time here on earth to ensure America’s energy independence, something that US presidents dating back to the 70′s have promised and done nothing to achieve. Here is a man with a plan, something few politicians have and something oil companies are not going to do because the economics are not in it for them.
Case in point…1 mcf of natural gas costs $5 and provides the equivalent of 7 gallons of diesel which at $3 per galling is $21. That is FOUR TIMES the cost. Why would an oil company want that?
America’s energy independence is about social change. It’s about each of us as individuals taking the necessary steps towards our independence, much like what was done in the 1770′s for this great nation to get out from under British rule.
You can start today by signing up at PickensPlan.com and when you do, drop me a note on the site to let me know you did.
All-Electric Vehicles: The Wave Of The Future Or A Tsunami Of False Hope?
From natural gas to hybrid cars to all-electric vehicles, or EVs, U.S. automakers have tried every way possible to create a vehicle that runs on alternative energy. Now may be the best time in history to actually get these vehicles up and running. Or get the drivers up and running – to the local ell-electric dealer.
There are, in fact, more automakers (and not all are U.S.-based) willing to offer vehicles powered by alternative energy than ever before, and it seems that the energy that they may settle on is all-electric. Or is this just false hope?
Here’s a list of some of the manufacturers who have rolled out all-electric vehicles in just the past couple of years:
- General Motors – The 2011 Chevy Volt comes with an 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
- Liberty – The manufacturer got its start in 2007, but introduced the all-electric Range Rover SUV in 2010. However, they’ve improved on it in 2011.
- Mitsubishi - The i-MiEV isn’t the most attractive vehicle on the road, but it is one of the less expensive all-electric vehicle options.
- Tesla – You just have to see the Tesla Roadster. You’d be surprised it’s all electric.
- Toyota – Toyota has not done well selling its hybrids so it has partnered up with Tesla to produce all-electric vehicles. None have hit the market yet, but the company plans to introduce all-electric vehicles outside its Tesla partnership in 2012.
- Nissan – Nissan got in on the all-electric market early with the LEAF.
- Smart – You know those funny-looking European cars? They now have a scooter equivalent that will be powered by all-electric energy.
- Citroen – The French automaker has its own sports car powered electrically.
- Luxgen – Even Taiwan automaker Luxgen is going electric with the Luxgen 7 all-electric MPV.
- Volkswagen - Look for it in 2013.
- Th!nk – A Norwegian company with an American division. Think Ox will hit the streets soon.
- Electric City Motors - Manufactures the all-electric vehicle the Current.
- Chrysler – Chrysler created an entire division for all-electric production: ENVI.
With so many traditional automakers introducing all-electric vehicles, you’d think this was a big market to tap. The current political and social landscape in the U.S. makes me think it is. Al Gore preached about the evils of the internal combustion engine and he was laughed off the planet, but now it seems that all the auto manufacturers that are worth a darn are singing his praises. Maybe not literally, but figuratively in the act of rolling out their all-electric creations.
General Electric has manufactured a charger for the vehicles. Nissan and Chevrolet are fighting over a passing gear. And Nissan offers further encouragement by offering to plant a tree on your behalf.
Clearly fuel and energy alternatives are here and making their footprint. Like the days of Cable vs. DSL, the alternatives are battling things out for a shot at mainstream.
Is Natural Gas Becoming Sexy Again?
The BP oil spill, rising gasoline prices in recent years and global terrorism are causing American political leaders to seek out alternative sources of energy and to create a more energy independent nation. One of the potential sources of alternative energy for automobiles seems to be natural gas. In fact, GM will roll out two vehicles for 2011 powered by natural gas.
The question is, is that a good bet?
Consumers don’t seem to be all that interested in all electric or hybrid cars. Maybe they’ll be interested in natural gas. The problem is, there aren’t that many fueling centers for natural gas. Here’s the dilemma:
“It’s a chicken-and-egg thing,” Hill explained. “If there were a lot of delivery points, [automakers] would make the vehicles. And fuel providers say that if there were more vehicles, they would provide the fuel. You probably needed some sort of government intervention to subsidize more fuel stations.”
Perhaps GM is testing the market. If the automaker can create a demand for natural gas vehicles then perhaps more service stations will begin offering natural gas filling centers. Then, if more service stations begin providing natural gas more automakers will start making these vehicles to fill the demand. Or, maybe it’s all just a pipe dream.
But you do have to hand it to GM for making the move. For decades, automakers have been fixated on body style design and technological innovations. This is a welcome change.
There are two ways to pump up demand for natural gas vehicles and cars powered by other alternative energy sources. One is a free market solution and the other involves government grants, or investments.
- The free market solution so far has not worked too well. Automakers have been building eco-friendly vehicles for years. Drivers just haven’t been interested in them. One reason is because they are so expensive coming off the floor. But new technologies generally are more expensive until they are widely accepted. Maybe we just haven’t reached the point in the marketplace where consumers are willing to make the commitment.
- Government subsidies could open the floodgates to alternative energy. Grants for service stations to add natural gas pumps might create more demand for the vehicles. Or perhaps the federal government could subsidize the building of the vehicles and offer incentives to consumers to purchase and drive natural gas vehicles, which would spark the demand for more fuel.
Whether you are a proponent of supply-side solutions or demand-side injections, one thing is clear: If natural gas is to be the sexy solution that GM is banking on it being then something has to give. The endless tug of war between supply and demand will need to break.
Click here for more great reads on the use of alternative energies in the automotive industry.
Saginaw, Michigan Home To Alternative Energy R&D
Late last year the California-based solar energy company, GlobalWatt, picked Saginaw, Michigan as the place for a new production plant. Saginaw was in competition with Corpus Christi, Texas and won.
Reasons cited for going with Saginaw over Corpus include 7 years of employment tax credits and $10 million in tax credits. You can read more about that news at MLive.
One of the reasons for looking at Saginaw in the first place has to do with other industry already located there. Local leaders are proud of the fact that Saginaw has a strong interest and a huge leg in the alternative energy R&D sector. As the nation begins to move toward alternative energy and toward energy independence, these plants – and Saginaw, Michigan itself – could prove to be an important aspect of the nation’s energy needs.
This statement from the above linked-to story illustrates how local Saginaw leaders perceive GlobalWatt’s presence in their area:
Officials locally say GlobalWatt would fit well with solar industry growth they are pushing in the Great Lakes Bay Region.
With other businesses like Hemlock Semiconductor and Dow Corning in the area, Saginaw looks to be a major player in alternative energy, particularly solar technology. It looks like GlobalWatt is a feather in the cap of Saginaw, Michigan industry.
Despite the fact that the state of Michigan lobbied like heck to get this deal and wrapped it with huge incentives to get its own sputtering economy revived, the element of this that seems to be overlooked is the tie in to how the push towards energy independence in the USA is one of the best avenues to fixing the broken US auto industry. Granted it is automobiles that will fix the auto industry, it’s sustainable energy solutions that can help the loss jobs recovery, and this deal is the perfect example.
Expected to generate to more than 2700 indirect jobs in the area by 2016, including 500 direct jobs, this deal epitomizes how such a deal can and will create jobs in the sustainable energy industry to replace jobs that were lost as a result of the crumbling auto industry.
GoGreenExpo in Philly appeals to consumers and businesses. Text GOGREENEXPO to 41513
For those interested in learning about environmentally friendly goods & services for use in modern everyday living, the GoGreenExpo will be at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA next weekend, about half an hour outside of Philadelphia.
What’s special about the GoGreenExpo is that not only does it appeal to local consumers but also to local businesses.
Beginning Friday April 16 at 10 am the expo will open its doors to local businesses for a business-to-business (B2B) experience. On Saturday and Sunday starting at the same time the expo will open its doors to the public for a B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) experience.
Things you can expect to see include…
- Hundreds of Booths / Exhibits
- Green Job Expo
- Interactive Seminars / Speeches
- Green Marketplace
- Demonstrations & hands on activities
While there, come by the CMP Mobile booth (# to be announced) to catch a sneak peak of the new film documentary Haynesville and also enter for a chance to win Phillies baseball tickets.
We will have a 42-inch HD TV at the booth playing the movie and engaging with passers by at the expo, giving away Haynesville and PickensPlan trinkets.
“Haynesville: A Nation’s Hunt for Energy” is a documentary chronicling the discovery of the largest natural gas field in the United States (and maybe the world). The film examines the historic find in the backwoods of Louisiana, a formation called the “Haynesville Shale,” from the personal level as well as from the higher perspective of the current energy picture and energy future.
The expo has already visited Los Angeles and New York City earlier this year and plans to be in Atlanta later this year in June. CMP is the official mobile marketing sponsor for the Expo.
To learn more about the expo you can:
- Text GOGREENEXPO to 41513 and receive access to the mobile expo site.
- Visit the GoGreenExpo Facebook Group
- Follow @GoGreenExpo on Twitter
- Visit the GoGreenExpo.com website
To keep on the beat, follow @autoconversion on Twitter and hook up with us on foursquare too. We will be promoting the expo all week Tweeting live and checking in on foursquare while there, filming what we can and hopefully release a fun video for all to see soon after the show.
Go Green!
2010 – The year for alternative energy
In the summer of 2008, during the then upcoming Presidential elections, T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oil man, introduced himself to the world with a series of television commercials driving people to his website powered by Ning.
Ning is a social media software network that enables community builders to establish a collection of conversations online that support a consistent message or cause. This is important to know because it applies to the evolution of business and marketing. Ning is serving the needs of many good causes and organizations.
Pickens however is about alternative energy, but not with out a plan. Thus, PickensPlan.
The original PickensPlan revolved around the idea that the U.S.A could be a wind farm that would replace around 30% of our natural gas consumption presently being utilized for non-transit fuel. Then with the surplus natural gas we could subsidize our foreign oil dependency by using it for transit fuel and retain upwards to $300 billion a year from going overseas, particularly to rogue nations. That’s about 40% of our annual spending on foreign oil. (Hope I got my facts right. I will double-check them later).
Today, PickensPlan focuses more on the natural gas aspect but the goal still remains for this era being a stepping stone to reducing our dependency on foreign oil.
The movie preview below captures the essence to what I am referring. It was shared with me by Mike Johnston whom I know from PickensPlan. Mike puts a lot of time and energy into rallying the troops on Pickens’ Ning network and it is tough work, but it is efforts like his inspiring people like me to share the message with my friends.
There is no doubt that the USA is moving socially, politically, and economically into domestic, alternative, and renewable energy solutions. The last decade was a total transformation into digital communications. 2009 exposed the ugly face of political corruption in our capitalist society.
I believe that the coming year 2010 is the year of domestic and alternative energy. Translation…independence from foreign oil. This is not a pipe dream, but we may need to come together as citizens to trump any hindrance to doing so. Pickens pushes for this and I am committed to the Plan because it offers what we don’t see clearly enough in Washington – a real solution.
Go Pickens. Go Ning. and Go Energy.
Join me in the PickensPlan Virtual March
On April 1-3, the New Energy Army, that’s a team of Pickens activists, will virtually march on Washington. I don’t know exactly what this entails but I do know that I am supposed to spread the word about this. And so, here it is, your invitation to join the New Energy Army by joining PickensPlan and specifically by signing up for the Virtual March. Nearly 2 million people have signed up so far. Why not be one of us?
You can start by visiting the Virtual March website and registering with the site to sign the petition. The site lists the activities Pickens is seeking from you, which includes things like crafting a letter to your Congress folk, or even visiting them. I have never done this before but it is time.
If you are on the fence about the idea of signing up or getting involved with another site or movement, let me offer some words of encouragement. First off, if you are an Internet Marketing Specialist of any kind, you want to join PickensPlan. You will see first hand what social media, video marketing, and email marketing can do for an organization with a good cause and some money. PickensPlan is inspirational in this sense. Second, this is for your country, the U.S. of A. We need movements like this from the citizen sector. Our country is in dire straights largely because we have left it up to government to pave our future. PickesnPlan offers not only a patch to energy independence, but sets a new precedent in how the Internet can be used to create positive change.
March with me.
People often ask me how I find time to do all the things I do. My response lately as been something on the lines of, “Just break out of the space-time continuum. Time is not real.” Interestingly, most people get that, but often I find they aren’t clear on how to do it.
Well, the reality is, you can’t. At least not in this physical world as far as I know. But, that doesn’t mean you can not do things because you do not have the time to do them. Sure there are limitations to what you can pull off and when, but truth is if you genuinely want to do something you find the time to do it, or create it really.
One such thing for me for which I am striving to create more time is the PickensPlan. This energy independence effort for America is a new movement started by T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oil man, last year during the Presidential race. PickensPlan has quickly and effectively spread its word using a balanced mixture of Internet Marketing, T.V. and lobbying. Because of its robust online presence (Pickens uses Ning as its primary website), I have been able to keep in the loop of its activities and growth. My mission as of late is to get more involved and serve more as an activist. Like many Americans, I believe the energy independence is the best path and the right path for this once great nation.
PickensPlan – Saving America with Alternative Energy Sources
A couple weeks ago there was an ad on television of a Texas gentleman by the name of T. Boone Pickens. It was a good ad on the subject of Alternative Energy Sources. It started off with sound bits and slow-moving imagery of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. The advertisement alternated between the two making statements about the United States’ energy situation. Then Pickens himself chimed in.
Pickens is a senior Texas oil man apparently. As Senator Joe Lieberman has stated,
Pickens is somebody who’s in the oil business. He arrived in time to tell us we can’t drill our way out of this problem. He’s for using oil and gas as a bridge to what he, quite directly, says is the “non-hydrocarbon energy future.” He is ahead of us in Congress, so I thought his testimony was educational and, I hope, motivational.
In the ad, Pickens stated that America needs more than talk about our present energy situation and Alternative Energy Sources. We need action. But not just any action. A Plan of Action. And that is exactly what Mr. Pickens has…a plan and it is called PickensPlan.
PickensPlan is no joke. It is a “less than 10-year” plan to save America more than $300 billion dollars a year by shifting our exiting energy usage into new areas and replacing it with alternative energy, primarily Wind Power. I won’t bother re-iterating it here because you can visit the official site and watch a 6-minute video about it, or you can watch it right here, right now.
Now this leads to the other reason I am psyched about PickensPlan for Alternative Energy Sources. Whoever is behind PickensPlan from the Online Marketing standpoint is friggin on his game. PickensPlan starts its Alternative Energy Sources message with its website on the social network Ning. It has a straight-forward video that puts everything in perspective right there on the home page. It is clear and simple. PickensPlan also has a blog where they are reporting on their progress daily. If you look at the bottom of their blog, or in their email campaigns you also see links to places like their MySpace page, their Facebook profile, their Twitter, their LinkedIn page, their YouTube, etc.
Pickens has it. They get it. I don’t know how much they are investing into this and how many people or organizations are involved but whatever they are doing is working and working quickly. In just their first 2 weeks of rolling out, more than 150,000 people have joined the cause and T. Boone himself is hitting the big time networks, Washington, and the Web with his TRUE plan to save America with Alternative Energy Sources.
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