Dependence On Foreign Fuels
Pickens estimates that his plan would cut oil imports by 38 percent. Patricia Monahan, deputy director of the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists thinks differently. She questions the wisdom of trying to replace large amounts of imported oil with another fossil fuel, especially considering that the United States already has to import 19 percent of the natural gas it uses. The US has been steadily increasing its imports of natural gas since 1985 (see figure to the left), mainly from Canada.
According to Jerry Taylor, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, is that "foreign oil is not bad; it is good." The US is now importing about 70% of its oil needs annually because it is cheaper than other forms of energy. Taylor says that if compressed natural gas is the best option for transportation fuel then "the markets will see it," and over time CNG could outperform gasoline as a cheaper transportation fuel.
Read more about this topic: Pickens Plan
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