T. Boone Pickens loses $1 billion on wrong oil bet

This makes him look to have poor timing at worse. The basic ideas of renewable energy are still the better bet long term. It's possible we'll see a repeat of the 70's gas crunch, with prices dropping and everyone forgetting about the environment and replacing gas, but I doubt it.

I think the idea using renewable energy has become popular enough with consumers, and viable enough financially with the different industries, that we will still being moving in that direction, thouhg maybe not at the same desperate pace.

I wouldn't be calling T.B. a "fool." The price of oil is still high enough to be a problem or at least a major contributory problem to the overall economic mess the USA is in right now. It certainly affects our balance of trade deficit. At some point, his efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is going to pay off. I think the writer of the article is a schmuck, for his choice of words...but then I digress.

You think Pickens would have a better understanding of the oilman behind the curtain. That oilman knows it is an election year and that American's have a short memory, therefore the price drops.... for a while.

This article refelects the kind of short sighted thinking that will keep us hostage to oil for the next 50 years.

Tboone has the right idea and you idiots need to quit knocking him. He's a true American who wants the arabs to drink their frickin oil. We've got enough of our own and can power this country on wind and nat gas if he has his way. He ought to be President. Go T!

Renewable energy is nice...but the cost is far too high for the average Joe who is aleady deeply in debt and behind on his payments..
Ethanol and solar are both heavily subsudized by the government. Ethanol drvies up all milk, poultry, egg, meat food costs. Solar is of limited use and requires costly large lead batteries that must be replaced every 5 years and such systems may never recoup what they actually cost.
Electricity generated by wind turbines costs twice as much as using ng and 3 times as much as using coal or nuclear.
Do the wealthy want to subsidize the poors energy bills forever?

Wind power is working and commects to the grid just like any other power. We need to get off of non renewable oil all together, it won't last forever and it's price is controled. The best idea I have seen so far is seems to be a combination car that runs on hydrogen fuel cell, rechargeable batteries, and diesel using soy oil or better, oil from seeds of a weed that can be grown off season or on land unsuitable for food crops. Is soy oil a byproduct of soy flour? Anybody have a better idea? Our leaders have done nothing, but scream to drill for more oil. I would hate to see this country be the first to run out of oil. I say don't drill another drop in this country, use other countries oil first. THROW THE BUMS OUT!

To the author, How can you call T. Boone Pickens attempt to wean America off oil foolhardy? You can`t be so out of touch that you don`t realise that the heart of America is being sucked away by the cost of oil. Perhaps, you earn so much money that the high cost doesn`t affect you.

The problem is that for the vast majority, oil is too expensive. The cost of gas, doubled, the cost of heating oil, tripled, ect. Downline affects, cost of everyday goods are rising well beyond the cost of living increases most person receive as a yearly raise.

I believe alternatives to oil are essential to the survival of the world economy. Its about time someone has undertaken the task. So far in regards to this years presidential election, neither candidate has pushed this issue. They need to, at least if they want my vote.

T. Boone, go for it. You have my support.

Referring to a billionaire as "a fool" is usually unwise. TB's record suggests otherwise. Should he have predicted the Wall Street mess, the recession, and the 800 billion combined bailouts, combined with the election and Russian & Iran pot stirring? The markets are very jittery; the dollar's lost over 40% of it's value in the past 6 yrs. Investors are parking funds in real "stuff", rather than the Fed magical and unlimited fiat dollars. Time will prove Mr. Pickens right as usual.

Pickens is a fool, you say? Where's your billion-dollar fortune, Douglas?

Pickens is wrong about oil prices in the short term. Long term, he is right on target. However, I would submit that NUCLEAR energy is the way to go, not wind and natural gas.

Wind power requires too much land and infrastructure. The small footprint of nuclear makes it the better alternative for highly populated areas. The efficiency of nuclear is also much better. Natural gas is simply another resource that will eb depleted in time. Even though there are over two centuries' worth of reserves, the population growth worldwide will contribute to more rapid depletion jsut like happened with oil.

T Boone is 100% right! We need to can all the free-loading, non productive idiots (Dems & Gop) in Washington. Install all new people that care about America Drill, Drill &Drill & screw the Arabs!

Why jump on Pickens so fast when oil can jump $25 in ONE DAY?? I'm on the bus for whoever takes a chance at getting alternatives implemented in this country. Yes, it looks like electric, with the VOLT, will be an option sooner than CNG. To assume that oil is going to be the cheapest way to power cars in the future is utterly stupid and completely understandable given what we've been thru in the past couple years.

Wow, who wrote this crap? This is one of the most short sided articles I have read in a long time. Even if you think the price of oil will go to $20 a barrel, I think it makes sense to invest in alternative fuel sources. From lowering our dependence on foreign oil to helping the environment, I think the upside potential is just to great. Someone always caomplains that it will cost too much money. Well the money you are spending will stay in America and help employ some of our great college grads. If I have a choice of spending $2 employing our own or spending $1 buying oil from a country who cares nothing about the USA, then sign me up for the $2. Open your eyes!

How much does the petroleum companies pay you? You cannot be so stupid to think that as world oil reserves shrink that prices will not rise? Please let us know that you have more intelligence as a writer than 99% of your readers.

This article is moronic. Any fool can look at the story of reserves and discoveries around the world and understand that it is only a matter of time before production peaks. Anybody who denies this is either fooling themselves or an idiot. T. Boone is to be applauded for suggesting a concrete path off of oil dependence, and this article is not worth the webpage it appears on.

I'd rather have him in charge than Bush/Cheney?Mccain.

T Boone is trying to help us and he has good ideas that seem to work. Why can't we have someone like him to run for president?

So this journalism major suggests that we should all just pay the pump till it goes dry?
what kind of retard is this guy.
He has the wallstreet mentality of if it dosent make me millions today it not worth it.
How about if it lets your kids turn on a freeking light bulb in 10 years or so and it still works that was a good investment.
This retard should go ahead and move into a cave so we dont have to with the help of his vote.

T. Boone Pickens is a decent man. We must listen to what he's saying. Anyone, most certainly myself, can make a bad call on any given day. TBP is one of the most truly patriotic and caring men that I know of. I know of no one, who is fit to throw stones at this man.

Wow, I'm shocked by the stupidity and short-sightedness of this author...Go T.Boone! At least he is coming up with viable ideas rather than sitting on the side-lines and counting his money...for the amount of money he has, losing a billion isn't much...we probably lost the same percentage over the last 2 weeks of financial calamity.