FLW, the Pickens Plan, and the Natural Gas Act
Being a bass angler, especially a tournament bass angler, takes a lot of time, energy and focus. Add to that, the responsibilities of earning a living, taking care of family, and other daily activities, it leaves little time for much else.
Keeping up on environmental issues related to the well-being of our sport is one of those areas that tend to get neglected by not only bass anglers, but the general public as well. Given that, I would like to take this opportunity to bring everyone up to speed on the Natural Gas Act.
The Natural Gas act is a peice of legislation that is due to come up for a vote soon, that would dramatically expand the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel for the U.S. heavy-duty diesel fleets.
The current House and Senate versions of the bill, would provide tax-breaks for natural gas-powered vehicles and fueling stations.
FLW equity partner Boone Pickens has been instrumental is getting bipartisan support for this bill. Bipartisan support of any bill is extremely rare in today’s political climate, which makes Pickens’ involvement in this endeavor even more impressive. The Pickens Plan and Boone’s initiatives also have the support of President Obama.
Right now, the U.S. consumes about 21 million barrels of crude oil each day. Most of this goes to transportation fuel used for heavy-duty trucking. The key part of the Natural Gas Act, in terms of our economy, our environment, and natural security, is the fact that we can reduce our OPEC imports of oil by over 30 percent each day, if our diesel fleets were converted to natural gas.
This is huge for several reasons. First, natural gas is over 30 percent cleaner than oil, which helps reduce Co2 emissions. Secondly, it cost the U.S. over a billion dollars per day to import foreign oil, which is a ridiculous transfer of wealth here in the U.S. The less dependent we are on OPEC, the better for our national security interests as well.
The conversion of our truck fleets to domestically-produced natural gas has a huge potential for long-term, sustainable job creation here in the U.S.
Getting the Natural Gas Act passed is important for all of us.
It marks the first time in history that the U.S. has taken steps to create a new paradigm regarding an sustainable energy policy. The Pickens Plan encourages the use of all domestic resources, with the main focus on wind, solar and natural gas.
For now, since the price of natural gas is so low, wind and solar advancements, and the profitibility of them have slowed a bit, but they remain at the forefront of future energy resources.
Natural gas is the perfect “bridge” fuel, that can reduce our dependence on OPEC oil, until wind, solar and other new green technologies are perfected and made cost-effective.
Natural Gas is a great start to creating a long-term, environmentally-sustainable energy policy for the U.S. right now, and for future generations.
I would like to encourage all FLW members and their friends and families to sign up for the Pickens Plan. Also, please let your state lawmakers know you support the Pickens Plan and the passage of the Natural Gas Act.
Good fishing to everyone!
Randy Blaukat