Wind to carry T. Boone to Lawrence

By David Martin in Follow That Story, Martin

Tue., Mar. 31 2009 @ 10:06AM

Photo by Daniel Kramer

T. Boone Pickens

T. Boone Pickens, the octogenarian who is spending a fortune made in oil promoting wind power and natural gas, will be in Lawrence on Sunday to pitch his plan. The Dole Institute of Politics hosts the town-hall event at 4:30 p.m. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback will introduce Pickens, the subject of a recent feature in The Pitch.

Brownback has a pretty solid record on energy independence. In 2005, he co-sponsored a bill which aimed to reduce oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels a day in 10 years. He likes plug-in cars and has pushed for climate-friendly farming practices. He drives a hyrbrid.

But wanting to stick it to sheiks is not the same as being an environmentalist. Brownback's record has received low scores from the League of Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund and Republicans for Environmental Protection, which takes the seemingly obvious but seldom implemented position that conservation is conservative.