Pickens Plan garners support
| By Alan Franklin - Nov 25th, 2008 at 4:09 pm EST |
Denver Business Journal
ProgressNowAction, a Denver-based progressive advocacy network, said the organization has signed a pledge of support for the Pickens Plan, calling for Congress to enact an energy plan within the first 100 days of President-elect Barack Obama's new administration.
The pledge has been signed by many, including 168 mayors across the country.
In Colorado, Farris Bervig, the mayor of Alamosa, and Lionel Rivera, mayor of Colorado Springs, have signed the pledge, according to the Pickens Plan website.
Democratic U.S. Sen.-elect Mark Udall signed the pledge while he was campaigning for the seat, according to an Oct. 6 announcement.
Backed by billionaire businessman T. Boone Pickens, the Pickens Plan pushes for efforts to cut America's use of imported oil by boosting the amount of electricity produced by wind farms, a renewable energy resource. The new, wind-driven power would replace electricity generated by natural gas -- which in turn could be shifted to fuel cars, thus cutting the nation's need for oil imports.
The plan requires a big spending effort to build more big transmission lines from the central plains, where the wind is plentiful but people are not, to big cities with plenty of customers on the nation's coastlines. Money is also needed to get more natural gas-fueled vehicles into the market, as well as support systems such as refueling stations.
"I am pleased to have the endorsement of ProgressNowAction; Coloradans have always been forward-thinking about energy, and a state so abundant in domestic resources will play a significant role in solving our energy dependence issues," said Pickens in the announcement. "President-elect Obama has voiced commitment to reducing foreign oil imports over the next decade. With over 1.3 million Americans in the Pickens Plan army, we have solid support going to Washington, and are confident we will be able to work with the new Administration to enact true energy reform."
"No challenge is greater, or more important to our country, than ending our dependence on foreign oil", said Michael Huttner, executive director of ProgressNowAction, in a statement. "Shifting our consumption to abundant American energy sources will make our nation more secure, add millions of new jobs, and protect our planet from the threat of climate change. We need energy independence, and we need it now."
The Pickens Pledge can be found at www.pickensplan.com/thepledge.
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