There's an interesting
article at Popular Mechanics about some lesser-known aspects of "the Pickens Plan," that energy initiative/commercial that's all over screens lately.
"Pickens is in the planning stages of a $1.5 billion initiative to pump billions of gallons of water from an ancient aquifer beneath the Texas Panhandle and build pipelines to ship them to thirsty cities such as Dallas...a continuation of the drought impacting large portions of the United States could turn Pickens into something of a water baron. His yet-to-be-built pipeline would follow the same 250-mile corridor as electric lines carrying power from his wind farms."
An important detail here: "Specifically, Pickens asked Congress to extend a 2005 law intended to speed up the creation of energy corridors, and to give him control over any transmission lines he builds for wind-generated power."
I have some things I'd like Congress to give me control over, too. I promise something good for the general public would come out of it. That's not a legally binding promise, of course.
Update (10/7): Pickens's new commercial encourages viewers to ask of political candidates: "What's their plan for cutting foreign oil imports?" and "How soon can we get started?" Let's see, a political plan to cut imports--what does that usually look like? Pickens says he is dead serious about this. Good choice of words.
