One would have to have been in a cave not to have noticed the blizzard of TV commercials over the past month touting the “Pickens Plan” for creating American energy independence.

While our elected representatives are taking a wholly undeserved five (5) week vacation amidst an energy crisis, two shooting wars, and an imploding health care system, T. Boone Pickens has decided to do something about the domestic energy situation. Intrigued by the commercials, I decided to look into what this guy is up to.

According to Wikipedia, Pikckens is an 80 year old “business man who chairs the hedge fund, BP Capital Management. He was a well-known takeover operator during the 1980s. With an estimated net worth of about $3 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 117th richest person in America and ranked 369th in the world. Pickens has given more than $700 million away to charity.”

The nut of his plan is to capitalize on a natural “wind corridor” that bisects the country from Texas to Canada by building a series of  wind farms sufficient to offset that portion of the domestic power grid now supplied by natural gas (about 22% of total demand). The natural gas, a fairly plentiful domestic commodity would be diverted to use as motor fuel, supplanting about $300 billion annually of imported oil. Other fuel sources (geothermal, nuclear, biofuels, etc.) would then be used to further reduce foreign dependence.

I don’t know whether Mr. Pickens’ plan cuts the mustard or not, but I do know this – it stands in stark contrast as a voice of reason and leadership against the din and prattle of the Beltway bozos. Check it out.

A thought leader in the areas of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard, and their work, please visit their website at www.contentedcows.com