Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens is adding a new wrinkle to his push for US energy independence: monthly updates to remind Americans how much money they’re paying for foreign oil.
Pickens, a billionaire who is spending US$60 million on a high-profile campaign to boost the use of wind power and natural gas, said on Tuesday the updates would be a yardstick for measuring the incoming US administration’s progress on its goal of eliminating Middle East oil imports within a decade.
“You watch, we will elevate the interest in this,” he said.
PHOTO: AFP
Pickens and environmental advocate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr said oil-rich Middle East nations are using billions of US dollars to build schools, roads and airports while US infrastructure crumbles. They made the comments during a briefing at the Capitol.
Americans sent US$19.3 billion overseas to foreign governments for their oil last month, said Pickens, citing government figures.
“It is outrageous that we are sending billions of dollars — US$432,000 per minute — overseas to foreign countries while domestic programs at home remain severely underfunded,” said Pickens, who plans to highlight the monthly figures on his Web site.
Pickens met with the leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and several Congress members to promote his plan. He urged them to support a plan for converting 350,000 large commercial trucks such as 18-wheelers to natural gas.
“I think they are thinking about all of this very seriously,” he said.
Pickens last July unveiled a plan to cut oil dependency by increasing the use of wind power and natural gas. Pickens wants to erect wind turbines in the Midwest to generate electricity, replacing the 22 percent of US power produced from natural gas.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number