Pickens Plan District Group PA-18

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Comment by Mike Johnston on November 13, 2009 at 7:20am

This week I used the "contact your Representative(s)"feature on the site AND I submitted a Letter To The Editor to the Patriot News in Harrisburg.

Story link:
http://www.pennlive.com/letters/index.ssf/2009/11/state_is_missing_out_on_natura.html

Please join me by doing these two things yourself. It is very easy and only takes a few minutes of your time. Or just click on the story link and leave a comment of your own after my story :-)

Comment by Mike Johnston on November 6, 2009 at 7:39am

Surge in Natural Gas Has Utah Driving Cheaply

According to this recent story in The New York Times people in Utah have embraced natural gas as a vehicle fuel and are filling up on CNG for as little as .87 a gallon (as of last fall). Where is your state at in relation to this?

Pennsylvania is a prime example of states who are missing the ball on CNG. We have huge deposits of natural gas within our borders and in a short time we could have municipal fleets and local/regional trucking operations running on this clean, domestic fuel. Why are we losing in this new energy race to Utah? Our state leaders and national representatives need to be given a wake up call.

Natural gas will bring jobs to Pennsylvania and will cut transportation costs for manufacturers and service providers who depend on truck transportation. In this miserable economic climate you would think that our elected representatives would be scrambling to put our state first in taking advantage of this economic goldmine but, from what I have seen this isn't the case.

The people of Pennsylvania need to understand this. That is where we come in. By writing to our representatives and writing letters to local newspapers and or radio/TV stations we can help inform other Pennsylvanians and in this way bring the benefits of CNG fuel (which is OUR natural resource!) to Pennsylvania.

Comment by Mike Johnston on November 6, 2009 at 7:03am

If the link on the image below that takes you to the letter writing page isn't working for you here is the direct link:

http://www.capwiz.com/pickensplan/issues/alert/?alertid=13702871&type=CO

Comment by Mike Johnston on November 5, 2009 at 4:56pm

Would you be willing to tell your representatives that you support natural gas fuel and want them to take action NOW? All you have to do is click above and fill you some very basic info then hit send.. Really, that's it. Under 5 minutes. We need to make our voices heard and this is a very simple yet effective way to do it. Thanks..

Comment by Mike Johnston on September 21, 2009 at 6:25pm

Please read this story regarding the potential of natural gas:

"Shale gas is the most important energy development since the discovery of oil"

Then take the time THIS WEEK to write a letter to your local newspaper and/or contact your representatives in the House and Senate and ask them to pass the legislation we need NOW to begin to transition to a clean, secure, domestic energy future. This story shows that the capacity is there and we already know the technology is there. All that remains is to demonstrate enough WILL on the part of the American people to make it so...

Comment by Ed Matricardi on July 8, 2009 at 7:08pm

Happy Energy Independence Day

Today is the one year anniversary of the release of the Pickens Plan...

Thanks to your support and Boone’s dedication, we have been able to get Congress’ attention on Energy Independence. In fact, the Dallas Morning News wrote a good recap of our first year that you should check out...and use as inspiration to redouble your efforts in the coming months to finally get America off our addiction to foreign oil.


T. Boone Pickens fueling dialogue on clean-energy efforts
Sunday, July 5, 2009
By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News
esouder@dallasnews.com

In July of last year, Dallas billionaire T. Boone Pickens began a $60 million advertising campaign and speaking tour designed to persuade Americans to stop using foreign oil.

The oilman-turned-environmentalist proposed a seemingly simple plan: Convert cars, especially big fleets operated by companies and municipalities, from gasoline to domestic natural gas. And start generating more electricity from wind.

By the end of this year, Pickens predicts, Congress will finish passing laws to implement his plan. And within two years, oil imports will drop.

"We have gotten everything we went after," he said. "I have people say it didn't go very fast. Go back and compare it to other things. I think we've moved very fast."

But oil import data don't yet show much direct impact from Pickens' campaign, and a key new natural gas law hasn't made it out of legislative committee. He's persuaded some companies and municipalities to buy natural gas-powered fleets, but the numbers remain tiny.

Still, Pickens' $60 million bought remarkable influence. Because of Pickens, the term "foreign oil" entered the presidential campaigns, executive speeches and everyday discussions.

And he brought many of his conservative followers into the discussion about clean energy through his warning about energy security, allowing them to discuss alternative energy without stepping into the thorny debate about whether humans cause climate change.

"When you have a successful investor from Texas, someone from a state that, some people say, doesn't care about clean energy, to have him come out as the champion, caught a lot of people by surprise and brought a lot of attention to the incumbent [energy companies] in Texas being part of the solution," said Paul Dickerson, a former executive with the U.S. Department of Energy and head of Haynes and Boone's clean technology practice.

Pickens would probably also benefit from his plan. Pickens invests in companies that produce natural gas and sell natural gas vehicle fuel, and a company that builds wind farms.

His retort: "If I'd wanted to make money, I would have kept my $60 million."

On a mission

Instead, Pickens said, he felt he was on a mission that only he could accomplish.

"I felt like it was a mission that you had to tell the American people, you now knew something that affected their lives, their future, their children and grandchildren and everybody else, generations to come. And you had properly analyzed it, you knew what the problem was, and you had a solution for the problem," he said.

Pickens has presented his plan to Republicans and Democrats, to top executives and blue collar workers, to President Barack Obama and Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, a longtime supporter of more domestic drilling, credits Pickens with persuading House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to support natural gas vehicles.

"Apparently natural gas is not a fossil fuel," Barton said, tongue in cheek. (Of course, natural gas is a fossil fuel.)

The Sierra Club doesn't oppose Pickens, a longtime Republican supporter who decorates his office with Ronald Reagan memorabilia.

"We haven't given out a wholesale endorsement of the plan, but at the same time, we think that natural gas is a good bridge fuel as we transition to a full clean-energy economy," said Josh Dorner, a spokesman for the Sierra Club.

Natural gas burns more cleanly than oil or coal. Used in a vehicle, natural gas emits 70 percent less carbon monoxide, 87 percent less nitrogen oxide and 20 percent less carbon dioxide than gasoline vehicles, according to lobby group NGV America.

Electric cars might be cleaner than natural gas, but only if the power is generated with cleaner technology, such as wind or solar. Most power in Texas comes from natural gas-fired plants.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson, appointed by Obama, said Pickens "points out some really important policy issues."

For example, Pickens rightly talks about the importance of building transmission lines to carry wind-generated power from rural areas to population centers, she said.

Drop in imports

U.S. oil imports dropped 14 percent in June from the year before, according to the government's Energy Information Administration. But that probably is due to the ailing economy rather than a shift to alternative fuels.

The number of natural gas vehicles on U.S. roads has risen in the past two years by only about 8 percent to around 120,000, according to Rich Kolodziej, president of NGV America, a natural gas vehicle lobby group. That's hardly enough vehicles to account for the oil import drop.

However, Kolodziej said, demand for natural gas vehicle fuel rose about 25 percent last year as older models, which could use either natural gas or petroleum fuels, are replaced with new, natural gas-only vehicles.

Natural gas costs less than gasoline or diesel. How much less changes constantly. But the vehicle technology can be costly, and stations to fill up aren't always convenient. With few refueling stations outside of major cities, natural gas vehicles aren't as attractive to regular drivers who expect to use their cars for road trips.

But the nation's supply of natural gas is growing rapidly.

A study released last month from the Potential Gas Committee, associated with the Colorado School of Mines, estimates that the U.S. has 2,074 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, 35 percent more than in 2006. The committee said the amount grew partly because of new technology, like that developed for the Barnett Shale.

Pickens said once all of the planks of his energy policy become law, it will only take a couple of years for oil imports to decline for good.

That's only if the tax incentives are sweet enough to offset the extra costs and, in some cases, the inconvenience of using the technology.

Congress has passed the wind portion of the Pickens Plan, and wind power capacity has already risen 50 percent during the past year. The stimulus bill includes money to upgrade the power grid, and Congress has passed incentives for wind and solar energy. In Texas, new transmission lines to accommodate more wind power will cost electricity consumers around $5 billion.

Still, Pickens is missing incentives for natural gas vehicles themselves.

In April, two representatives from Pickens' home state of Oklahoma, Dan Boren and John Sullivan, introduced legislation to extend and create tax incentives for natural gas vehicles and fuel. The bill hasn't been voted out of House committee.

The bill would extend natural gas fuel, vehicle and infrastructure tax credits for 18 years. The credits are scheduled to expire this year and next. It would also provide incentives for auto manufacturers to produce natural gas vehicles, and require half of all new, federal government vehicles to be capable of operating on natural gas by 2014.

Pickens Army

While Pickens hasn't accomplished everything he wants in the halls of Congress, he has amassed a following of 1.6 million people, known as the Pickens Army, through his Web site. Members write letters to their legislators, encouraging them to adopt the Pickens Plan.

He is also meeting with executives, including those at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to stump for his favorite fuel.

Last week, AT&T Inc. said it would spend $350 million converting 8,000 of its vehicles to run on natural gas, the largest such fleet in the country. AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson chose to include natural gas in his alternative fuel fleet after an hourlong meeting with Pickens.

Pickens is indirectly connected to the company that will carry out the conversions, BAF Technologies. Pickens sits on the board of natural gas fuel supplier Clean Energy, which loaned BAF money, according to Clean Energy spokesman Bruce Russell. The loan is convertible into a 49 percent stake in BAF.

Comment by Ed Matricardi on July 1, 2009 at 4:48pm

Take Back Our Energy Future

A video reviewing the first year of the Pickens Plan has been completed and is available for you to view. It has snips of Boone talking about what he's done, where he's been, and why it is so important for America.

It also includes scenes of Army members, President Obama, former Vice President Gore and interviews with many of the leaders of the drive to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

You can be among the first to view the new video by clicking HERE
http://www.pickensplan.com/boonecam/2009/07/01/take-back-our-energy-future/

Comment by Ed Matricardi on June 18, 2009 at 6:14pm

We are fast approaching our one-year anniversary of the release of the Pickens Plan on July 8th and we need to jump-start our efforts!

Thanks to your help and Boone’s dedication, we have been able to build an army of almost 2 million online supporters...and we have put energy independence on the agenda in Congress. That is an amazing accomplishment and you can take great pride in your contribution to the effort.

But we are not done yet...not even close.

As we move into our 2nd year, we need to expand our efforts to include the offline community too...we need to approach a broad-based group of potential state and local allies that will partner with us to urge Congress to act on energy independence...everyone from progressive groups like the Sierra Club/etc to more conservative business-oriented groups like the state/local/regional chambers of commerce.

Every one of you has unique contacts at the local level that we need to spread the word about the Pickens Plan. Please let me know if you have any friends or other contacts at local groups and organizations (such as chambers of commerce, environmental groups, alternative energy associations, local elected officials, etc.) so that we can develop a game plan to recruit them as Pickens Plan supporters and mobilize their members to contact their elected officials.

We have done a great job recruiting and mobilizing online supporters...now we need to expand our outreach to local groups and leaders that have credibility with elected officials in your area. Please give me a buzz to discuss any specific contacts you have in your area...

Thanks again for all your help and I look forward to talking with you about any ideas you have on jump-starting activities in your area.

Ed Matricardi
202-531-4717

Comment by Ed Matricardi on May 17, 2009 at 7:30pm

Hope all is well and that you had a nice weekend...now we need to jump-start our efforts and make sure Congress acts on Energy Independence soon...otherwise they will go back to business as usual and hope nobody notices.

Thankfully, Boone is determined to keep the heat on Congress and ensure they don’t forget that the American people expect them to get us off our addiction to foreign oil. But we need your help!

We would like to discuss our efforts to identify and recruit local supporters in your area by using the Pickens Plan Petitions and Sign-Up Sheets on the Resources Page. You can circulate them in high-traffic areas – like shopping centers, post offices, community events or sporting events – and have an immediate impact on the debate by identifying local supporters in your area that we can incorporate into the effort.
http://push.pickensplan.com/page/page/show?id=2187034%3APage%3A1095041

After you print off the forms and collect the signatures/contact info, please contact me and I will give you information so you can send them in to Boone.

Thanks again for all your efforts.

Comment by Ed Matricardi on May 8, 2009 at 9:03pm

As many of you know, Boone attended this week’s Wind Power 2009 Conference & Exhibition in Chicago and generated a lot of interest in the NAT GAS ACT and Renewable Energy Standard (RES) legislation. As reported by the Associated Press, “Pickens told the American Wind Energy Association conference in Chicago on Wednesday that the renewable energy standard the industry wants could come as soon as six months from now.”

But Boone knows that this will only happen if the people continue to demand that their elected officials act on energy independence.

Thanks to your efforts (and Boone’s), we generated millions of contacts with Congress and it is making a difference. Now, Boone wants us to submit as many Letters to the Editor as possible to local newspapers. Believe it or not, every congressional office closely monitors the Letters to the Editor that appear in local newspapers within their home districts and this is a simple way to help define the debate in Congress.

If every Pickens District Group (ie- you) submitted just one LTE, that would be 435 LTEs in the next week...and it would be even better if you could get a couple of your most active local supporters to do the same. We could literally generate thousands of LTEs all across the country.

For a minimal effort, we could really drive the debate!!

Please draft a short LTE (maybe 3-4 sentences) and submit to your local newspaper ASAP. If you reference the Wind Conference, it will make your LTE more timely and more likely to get published. If you are not sure where to send your LTE or you need help finding contact info, just let me know. But please do something. The time is now and we will never have a better opportunity to convince Congress to act on energy independence by supporting the NAT GAS ACT and Renewable Energy Standard (RES) legislation.

Thanks,
Ed

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