The Pickens Plan....why I disagree

T. Boone Pickens isn't really being "civic-minded" by calling for wind power - what he's doing is a backdoor trick to gain mineral rights on west Texas land so that he can sell the water to the city of Dallas. He's been looking for a way to do this for years. Realistically, he's among the few who can afford to buy the land and build the windmills necessary for this kind of thing. Lord knows there's plenty of that land available, too. Once he's bought the property, Texas law states that he'll have exclusive rights to the minerals on site.

Once upon a time, that would have meant drilling for oil. Now, especially with the ongoing drought in Texas and the increasing demand for water in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, Pickens sees a profit in harvesting the water from those west Texas lands. Of course, west Texas residents won't benefit from it, and Dallas will still get water from reservoirs in surrounding counties (where the population is also booming and in need of water). Meanwhile, Pickens will get rich, and no one will stop him.

He's spent years helping build a Republican base in Texas that won't question his motives, and the power in the Republican party in Texas has shifted away from rural areas to Houston and Dallas in recent years. Also, there are very few legislators in Texas who really "get" the water problem our state is facing - something Pickens is no doubt counting on, so that no legislative roadblocks keep him from being able to accomplish this. It's a little fishy that he's calling for this plan in a non-legislature year for Texas, too.

Gaining all this momentum from television ads, spots on evening news programs, and relentless internet coverage is a smart plan - no doubt people who aren't from Texas and specifically not from areas that would be affected by Pickens' plan find it easier to smile and agree with him. But I think serious scrutiny is warranted before agreeing with him.

It just figures that Pelosi is in cahoots with him.