Page 30 - ATR 2 2012 web 2

$40,000 more than a similar diesel- For example, Pickens points a ral gas exploration. And, of course, the
powered model. Pickens wants a dollar finger at Grover Norquist, the influ- natural gas industry is with him and
for dollar tax credit if he can get it. ential manager of the anti-tax group hopefully, the trucking industry will
There is an inherent weakness in Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist join the effort.
Pickens’ plan—a lack of fuel stations opposes Pickens and his plan to aban- The battle lines are forming. As
across the country. So Pickens helped don OPEC. Pickens sees it, America’s future could
negotiate a deal between Clean Energy Also, he says the Koch brothers, hang in the balance. And Congress will
Fuels, of which he is a member of the mega-wealthy financial supporters of decide who wins.
board of directors, and Pilot Flying J the conservative group Americans for
Travel Plazas to install natural gas fuel- Prosperity, are also against him. Of THE CoNvErSaTIoN
ing stations on major interstate highway course, the oil industry and all the We are sitting in BP Capital’s
freight corridors. money it can muster doesn’t want peo- offices on Preston Highway in Dallas.
Pickens has been selling his Pickens ple using less diesel. And just for good The hallways, board room, every office
Plan since 2008 and has spent, accord- measure, throw in the conservative are adorned with paintings, sculp-
ing to some reports, as much as $100 think tanks, The Heritage Foundation tures, photos of presidents. His spa-
million of his own money to promote and the Cato Institute. cious reception area features photos of
and advertise its virtues. There is no To counter these opponents, Pickens on the cover of virtually every
question the plan is gathering momen- Pickens is forming a bipartisan (some business and lifestyle magazine in
tum and supporters. would say unlikely) political coali- the United States—from Newsweek to
But standing squarely in the way tion, starting with President Obama. Forbes—it goes on and on. And Pickens
of getting the tax credits he needs to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and assures us his cover photo in Arkansas
help trucking companies buy these nat- most Democratic senators, along with Trucking Report will go up there with
ural gas trucks are a group of political a core of influential Republicans like the rest of them.
and industry heavyweights—industries U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Pickens’s corner office is full
and people that, for various reasons, are with Pickens. So are environmen- of memorabilia and of course, an
want to keep folks pumping $4.25 die- tal groups as such The Sierra Club, Oklahoma State University football
sel fuel. although it has misgivings about natu- helmet, his alma mater to which he is

30 ArkAnSAS trucking report | issue 2 2012