mb73,

I probably have little more optimism about Pickens' plan than you do. In fact his idea that wind can replace gas generation sufficiently to enable gas to become available as a transportation fuel seems a real stretch. So my support for Pickens plan doesn't come from its probability of making a significant contribution to preserving the energy intensive live we love.

What does get my support are Pickens' vocalization of three simple but major points that the politicians and dreamers haven't yet been able to grasp.

1. Pickens' first premise is that we are in an energy crisis right now, not tomorrow. And he does see the crisis includes a financial component, in the balance of payment problem of imported oil.
2. He plainly states that his wind plan is not a utopian solution, but a bridge that can help make other scenarios possible in the future.
3. Wind uses robust existing technology that can be implemented on a project by project basis, and integrated into the existing infrastructure in a fairly short time frame.

We need a national energy policy. Pickens' plan would be a good place to start and demonstrate some results.