Pickens California Group

Add a Comment

Comment by Jeffrey Michael Paganini on September 30, 2009 at 9:07pm

i CAN ENJOY YOU DR. HANS MY FATHER IS A MD TOO A phi betta Kappa. I have always learned a picture is wort a 1000 words

Comment by Gary Fosburg on September 24, 2009 at 1:59pm

If the Pickens plan (which I support) supported a National Energy Lottery (see blog below) proposal and the 4 million followers donated 5 bucks a week for this Energy Raffle, there would be 800 winners a week or 41,600 winners a year of a $25,000 voucher good only for Renewable products, ie; solar, wind, hybrid, energy green appliances, etc...and be fully transferrable as well. Take advantage of the Fed's energy credit and it would buy around $32,000 worth of Green product/s.

If the Pickens Plan ran this program and retained 10% for operations, not only would it generate further income for the cause but the donators would have some fun with the potential of winning this voucher and 25,000 to 1 odds. Better than a money lottery that doesn't promote going green.

At $20,000,000 a week @ 10%, that's $2,000,000 for the Pickens Plan for operations. Would certainly be enough for expanding the mission. That's over a Billion for the year! Maybe take that money and invest in a windmill anufacturing company that is owned by the workers. Spread the prosperity and have it Made in USA by the owners/workers. see entire plan at: http://nationalenergylottery.blogspot.com/
Also an inventor who has developed a prototye called Road Power. Will convert downhill vehicle traffic 24/7/365 to electricity alongside the highways of America. No Sun, Wind, Water, Land required. One unit will power approximately 3 homes per year. Looking for Angel Investors to take to next level. Would be a great asset to the Pickens Plan to get us off foreign oil even faster. Thank you, Gary

Comment by Wayne J.R. Bowser, LEED AP on September 16, 2009 at 7:59am

How do handle the issues of Natural Gas imports? CA is planning new facilities along the coast to handle the increase in natural gas shipments. Shouldn't this be something we're exporting? I thought we had a surplus of NG and more just recently found? What are we doing?

Join me on The Green Revolution Show today and let's try to get to the bottom of of all this talk about the Natural Gas Act and H.R1835.

We've got to start somewhere to bring America closer to Energy Independence, and I think this may be it!

Comment by Lee Taylor on September 11, 2009 at 6:48am

A note to Richard Barnard, new Friend at Pickens Plan

Hi, Richard,

Re Pickens Plan, I spend some time thinking about what is happening in the world, and why.

The thing that comes across to me is that much of our world, as we now have it, just kinda "evolved", in the easiest way that was possible. And the thing that is the easiest, is to just improve on what we were already working on. Doesn't matter that much what it is, it is easier to "improve" on something, than to start over with something that makes more sense.

That is where I feel we are with energy. When motor vehicles started out, their energy needs were pretty basic, and the crude fuels for them came on line at just about the same time. Fuel technology developed at the same time as the needs, and it was both plentiful, and available, as long as we could produce enough of it to keep it cheap, and the economies of scale followed so that we could do that.
And an entire economy followed. One that has a tremendous investment financially and scale-wise. Half the world, one way or another, now depends on delivering that stinky stuff to our cars. AND KEEPING THAT SYSTEM WORKING, so that the investment can be recouped.
However, there are so many things that make that make petroleum fuels not overall desirable now. WE WILL PROBABLY NEVER ELIMINATE PETROLEUM FUELS, there are many, many uses that are not easily changable, (aircraft use, for one major application), but two things become so incredibly important now.
First, we are spending WAY too much of our money overseas to acquire the excess oil that we need to feed our totally petroleum-based economy. Sending money overseas, money that does not regenerate the American economy. Money that is just plain lost to us, and buying a product that is totally expended. That's just plain foolish, when, with some rather minor changes to the way that we utilize our energy assets, we can just about eliminate oil importation. And I am only concerned about supporting the American economy, not providing all our assets to an Arab world. Especially an Arab world that supports activities like 9/11. It is OUR money that supplied the money to support that activity. That's just plain stupid of us.
We have "enough" oil in the US to supply our necessary needs, if we can cut down on the overall usage. Only by restricting the growth of petroleum usage can we keep the costs of it under control. We are not doing that right now. Use is exceeding availability, and costs rise exponentially with that fact.

Second, petroleum fuels used to the extent that we use them now, have tremendously destructive side effects Incredibly complex, and environmentally, financially destructive. If you have ever actually looked at an oil refinery, you will be amazed to understand how gasoline and other fuels can possibly be produced by these unbelievably complex factories at anywhere even remotely affordable prices. It is all economies of scale----we can afford to build these kinds of incredibly complex systems, IF we continue to consume the quantities of fuels they are capable of producing.
But that kind of investment can be so much more efficiently utilized to produce other kinds of energy. It takes a windmill to produce electricity. It takes a filter, and a compressor to produce CNG. That statement is overly simplistic, but In comparison to what it takes to convert oil into its usable products-------------------------------There is no way in the world that an alien studying the Earth could ever comprehend why we would use petroleum as a fuel, when there are so many other, MUCH EASIER energy sources available. Cheaply, and cleanly.

The reason that we keep using petroleum as fuels is because the investments have already been made. The money has been spent, and now the profits from that money depend on continuing to use the volumes that make the profits possible.

My feeling is that we can no longer afford to keep increasing petroleum usage, when other much more practical energy sources are now available and do-able. And we need ALL energy resources, INCLUDING OIL, to continue increasing our lifestyle comforts.

And that's what it is all about. Making life as comfortable as we can, economically and in a manner that isn't so destructive to our environment.

Lee Taylor

Comment by Richard Barnard on September 8, 2009 at 9:39am

Solyndra - New Solar Plant in Fremont, CA

http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/13204/

Richard Barnard

Comment by Lee Taylor on September 6, 2009 at 8:16am

News about a new Propane program in the SouthEast:


OCEAN SPRINGS — Converting a vehicle to cleaner propane fuel saves money and the environment, and a coalition led by Blossman Gas of Ocean Springs has received $8.62 million in stimulus funds to bring the alternative fuel technology to the Southeast.

The grant, requested by Virginia's state energy department, will convert 1,500 vehicles to propane and create the country's first autogas corridor, where the vehicles can be refueled, from Washington, D.C., to Mississippi and Florida. The total cost of the project is $29 million.

Blossman Gas partnered with American Alternative Fuel to form Alliance AutoGas and roll out 1,500 vehicles that can run on propane. Another 3,000 will be retrofitted outside the grant, said Blossman President Stuart Weidie.

* Gallery:TANK TECHNOLOGY

Some customers look at the economic advantages of autogas, the term given to propane fuel for vehicles. "It's economical," said Weidie, priced more than $1 per gallon less than gasoline. Autogas also keeps a vehicle engine running three times longer with fewer oil changes.

Weidie said more of their customers see converting to autogas as an opportunity to do their part for the environment. Propane fuel reduces carbon monoxide emissions by 28 percent and hydrocarbons by one-third, he said. Others appreciate that autogas reduces dependence on foreign oil. Nearly all of the propane used in the United States comes from within the country and Canada.

"This sounds too good to be true," one person told Weidie, who told him autogas is used extensively throughout Europe. The United States is behind in the technology because the country had such cheap energy. "It's just now evolving," he said. Autogas provides the same power and performance, and the vehicle can switch over to regular gasoline if a propane fuel tank isn't available.

Blossman introduced propane fuel in the 1980s, when fleets of police and school vehicles in Mississippi operated on the alternative fuel. That experience is one of the reasons the autogas corridor will run to the state.

"We're based here in Mississippi," Weidie said of Blossman Gas. "Ocean Springs is still our home office." The corporate office is in Ashville, N.C., in the middle of the company's territory of 64 stores from Washington, D.C., to coastal Mississippi.

The AutoGas Corridor Development Project has three components: the equipment, the conversion centers and the fueling network. Weidie said key to the program is installation of the Prins Conversion System by certified installers. Blossman Gas will build the refueling centers, including eight that will be open to the public. The pumps look like regular gas tanks but the nozzle screws into the propane tank that is installed inside the trunk of the car and is more impact-resistant than the car's regular gas tank. For large fleets, the refueling equipment will be installed at the company, school or police departments' sites, Weidie said.

Alliance AutoGas also will be available at the five Blossman Gas locations in South Mississippi, in Waveland, Gulfport, D'Iberville, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, and 12 others throughout the state.

Weidie said they are primarily starting with fleet conversations under the Department of Energy stimulus grant, but personal vehicles also can be converted if Alliance AutoGas has the Environmental Protection Agency-approved systems for the vehicles. Crown Victorias, which are used for police cars and taxis, can be converted now and the equipment will be available in next 30 days for Ford 250 and 350 vans. Compact cars also will be able to be retrofitted, and Weidie said some of the automakers are building autogas fueled vehicles.

Weidie said the company has 12 employees solely focused on potential prospects for autogas, and its Alliance AutoGas partners were careful not going to the market too early. "We wanted to get it right the first time," he said.

Privately owned, Blossman Gas is the largest independent propane company in the United States and the 10th largest overall.
Add a comment (max 1000 characters)

Comment by Richard Barnard on September 5, 2009 at 8:53am

Not all is bad in CA. Solyndr is a solar-panel manufacturer with an innovative design, making cylindrical solar cells that resemble fluorescent bulbs. It uses a combination of elements – not silicon – to create the semiconductor material used in its photovoltaic solar cells.

They just received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy and will build a one million square foot facility in Fremont, CA that will employee 2,000 people. It will be completed in late 2010 and start shipping in 2011. In addition, it will create 3,000 construction jobs in northern CA.

Federal officials say the solar panels produced at the new factory will provide enough energy for 24,000 homes a year.

This is only the beginning. They will build an additional plant shortly thereafter that will be double the size – two million square feet. They are looking at the soon to be closed NUMMI in Fremont as a possible site.

Comment by Bruce D. Bongardt on September 4, 2009 at 12:04pm

A Rally Cry for Real Action!!! See: http://push.pickensplan.com/forum/categories/2187034:Category:239198/listForCategory

Comment by Richard Barnard on September 3, 2009 at 11:15am

SJC:

You appeared to be a nice person until the name calling. I stated below I’ve been in California for 40 plus years. I bought my first home in Santa Rosa. My taxes were about $200 a year. My taxes are now about $2,000 a year. I’m retired and live on a fixed income. If it wasn’t for Prop 13 I would be paying about $9,000 a year. Thousands like me can’t afford to pay those taxes. The only reason we have Prop 13 was because of what was happening to retired and older people in Hawaii. A little prior to 1978 in Hawaii the cost of housing began to inflate egregiously and older people were forced out of their homes because they couldn’t afford to pay the run away inflationary tax increases. Within a few years their taxes increased ten fold. In a very short period of time the same thing was happening in CA. Thank God for Howard Jarvis because he saw what was happening and stopped it. He saved thousands of retired and poorer people from losing their homes in California. Within a few years after Prop 13 passed we built a new library and Police station in Fremont and our Central Park doubled in size. I still own my home. We were told immediately after Prop 13 passed these things wouldn’t happen. Fremont grew from 30,000 residents to over $200,000 residents in that period.

What caused California to go broke was greed, a bad legislature in Sacramento and a unionized government. Unionized pension plans are breaking the back of every municipality in CA. In addition, Sacramento doesn’t have any money because of State Pension Plans, the huge cost of our unionized prisons and bad laws passed that caused the huge prison population. Our schools are failing because of poorly planned diversity by Sacramento. Our state universities are the least expensive to attend in America. You get what you pay for. They should raise tuition fees. I know I just made some cry foul. The K12 system in CA includes junior colleges that are hurt when municipalities go broke; however, they belong to and are run by government teacher’s unions. When and how did we let unions run California? Most intelligent people know that monopolies are dangerous. Sacramento is a monopoly run by unions. You may be able to change some of this in 2010.

I do hope you aren’t nearing retirement. You sound like you may be fairly young. I hope some of your older loved ones live in areas that don’t have inflationary house prices and taxes.

Best wishes

Richard BARNARD

Comment by SJC on September 2, 2009 at 8:56pm

Richard Bernard,

You can believe what every you want and no one will change your mind, but many experts including Warren Buffet KNOW that Prop 13 is the cause of many if not most of California's financial problems.

Freezing taxes at the1978 rate for millions while pretending that everything does not cost more every year is selfish, greedy and reckless. It is NOT what good citizens do, but it is what people that only care about themselves do.

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last