More on Drilling for Oil By Nick Fritsch Have you seen the TV spots by T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oilman? Here are the opening highlights. “Let me share a few facts: Each year we import more and more oil. In 1973, the year of the infamous oil embargo, the United States imported about 24% of our oil. Today, we import almost 70% of our oil.” Pickens continues, “This year, we will spend almost $700 billion on imported oil, which is more than four times the annual cost of our current war in Iraq. In fact, if we don't do anything about this problem, over the next 10 years we will spend around $10 trillion importing foreign oil. That is $10 trillion leaving the U.S. and going to foreign nations, making it what I certainly believe will be the single largest transfer of wealth in human history.” When he states, “we're going to work our way out of this mess.” I am inclined to believe him. Common sense says drilling for oil is a Band-Aid?, not a cure. His experience and the trillions of dollars that he states will go to foreign governments, capture my attention. Rather than sending our money to the Middle East and other scattered nations that create oil jobs there, he proposes a national plan. Interestingly, it is a ten-year plan that parallels the “Placing a man on the moon by the end of this decade.” that we keep hearing bantered about. It is time to make an investment in a cure. If given such a challenge, the technological advantage the U.S. enjoys would seem to make this a win-win. Instead of taking those trillions of dollars to pump oil and burn it (wasting it); we can invest much of the money in our economy, create American jobs while we work shoulder to shoulder on renewable fuels and technology to multiply the efficiency of our vehicles. Pickens” plan focuses on solar and wind driven power. Check out more specifics for yourself at the website: www.pickensplan.com. There is both a video as well as the text of his plan.

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