T boon pickens Idea?

[greg334]

OK so how would you like $65,000 for a new truck?

His idea is to create a real cash for tractors program where the government gives you $65,000 for a new truck while scrapping your older one. The new truck will run on Natural Gas and will help the environment and make Pickens richer.

There is a bit of a problem with the idea.

1 - there are not a lot of places where you can retro fit for CNG on the road. It will take years for the conversion to come on line for trucks.

2 - trucks cost a lot more than $65,000 and for many people who can't afford a new truck, it won't help unless the money can be used to convert the truck. This also leaves out the Mexicans who drive those 70's/80's trucks across the border to work.

3 - the actual debt to the country will be enormous, coupled with the interest rate needed to borrow more money, the cost will exceed $100k when and if it ever gets paid.

4 - there will have to be a serious adjustments to weight regulations.

 

[FIS53]

Actually Sterling had a line of tractors running on natural gas that are used by one of the west coast ports for container hauling. Since Sterling is gone they have switched over to Freightliner so they are currently producing a line of natural gas powered units for the same customer. I don't think it would take much to increase this line to cover more trucks so the idea could actually fly in a year. Remember American production lines are capable of some amazing turn arounds when pushed so with govt backing and a decent sales campaign it could happen.
Rob

 

[LDB]

Last Wed. my dad and I went to a technology day put on by Kenworth. They had a brief presentation on options including their hybrid as well as CNG and LNG fueling options. I was in browse mode so I didn't take any notes or anything as it didn't apply to me and wouldn't for long enough to change significantly but they have units currently in operation and plans to develop and expand those markets. It was interesting and I'm sure to a mechanical/tech type very informative.

 

[Moot]

I thought old T. Boone Pickens was out of the oil and natural gas business. I remember hearing radio commercials with him praising wind power and demonizing oil. I made a pickup at an excavating contracting company. They had just been awarded a contract for 400 miles of road for one of T-Bones wind farms.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

Those wind farms are not the the godsend that some "greenies" make them out to be,and in reality they are dangerous.

We had to make a delivery to a wind farm in Tehachapi,CA, and after arriving at the gate were told that we could not enter the facility because they had a "runaway" wind turbine.

I asked the guard what were the implications of that were,and was told that the propeller on the turbine could fly off of the unit.

After awhile when it was deemed safe to enter, we noticed many propellers laying on the ground. So it seems there are some bugs to be worked out on this environmentally friendly energy source.

 

[Moot]

Those wind farms are not the the godsend that some "greenies" make them out to be,

Very true, but for T. Boone, G.E. and others wind farms produce a lot of green.

 

[layoutshooter]

They sure do ruin the scenery. Use up LOTS of land to produce un-reliable energy. I wonder just how many of those things it takes to equal what ONE nuke plant produces?

 

[Doggie Daddy]

They sure do ruin the scenery. Use up LOTS of land to produce un-reliable energy. I wonder just how many of those things it takes to equal what ONE nuke plant produces?

I'm just guessing,but I would think it would be enough propellers to spin the earth out of it's orbit.

 

[Moot]

DD, you might be on to something. If all of those propellers have an effect on the Earth's rotation or obit it could be the prime suspect for the cause of global warming.

 

[layoutshooter]

I'm just guessing,but I would think it would be enough propellers to spin the earth out of it's orbit.

LOL!!!! I wonder how the studies that some U.S. and Europian colleges are going? They are looking into if these things are capable of taking enough energy out of the atmosphere to alter global weather patterns. If you think on it these things are nothing more than wind brakes. Norway is looking into the possibility that the offshore wind farms are changing the direction of the flow of some ocean currents as well. Just as there is NO such thing as a free lunch or free health care, there is NO such thing as producing electricity without damage to the environment. WE have to decide what damage we can accept, how much we can accept and what limits we need on that damage. It will NOT be easy. There is NO free electric pill.

 

[piper1]

T Boone has lost a lot of his credibility once his investments were exposed. You can wrap yourself in the flag and promote natural gas all you want but when people find out that you are the one who will profit from it you just look like any other lobbyist.

CNG is a great idea in some applications, not really for long haul. Maybe something like those Los Angeles port hauler guys who they are making update their trucks.

If T Boone thinks it is so great, let him pay out the grant money. Too bad he lost so much when the price of Natural Gas collapsed last year.

 

[Mdbtyhtr]

The FAA has an issue with these wind farms as it screws up their radar.

Scott

 

[layoutshooter]

They are also very hard on military over the horizon radar.

 

[Pilgrim]

They are also a complete eyesore on the landscape of the Southwestern US. For those of us who have made the drive from El Paso to Nogales, one of the few pleasures of the trip is the sunset in that part of the country. Nowadays, this perfect vista at dusk is spoiled by what appears to be a line of giant weeds across the pristine ridges that nature took millions of years to create. As we draw closer, we realize it's those #@&*! windmills polluting the scenery and making the beginnings of future desert junkyards that will someday be as unsightly as the automobile graveyards that dot the landscape of Applachia. Just another example of the hypocrisy of the green movement and their shortsighted, unrealistic notions to save the earth.