tried to respond to this challenge as individuals and as individual organizations. but this plan now gives us an opportunity to provide a broad partnership to tackle these issues from a public health and a public safety approach. so the promise of this plan is that we now have a chance to help each person enjoy the gift of health. ..

you will be hearing more from commissioner hamburg exactly how we propose to do that and this involves not just the fda but also the centers for disease control and prevention, health resources service administration and the national institute. with respect to monitoring we commit to continuing to track the trends with respect to this epidemic, improve our surveillance and use that data to better target our resources and outreach and we are delighted to advance monitoring particularly with respect to the prescription drug monitoring programs that have already been mentioned. with respect to disposal and enforcement we are pleased to work so closely with administrator michele leonhart who has done a wonderful job

leading these efforts. the national institutes of health checked daily strides in improving its standing for the disease of addiction for world-renowned research. i want to thank everyone here. this plan offers tremendous promise for our country, promise of health and hope. and with that promise we are delighted to move forward in partnership with everybody in this room and thousands across this country. it is my pleasure to introduce my wonderful colleague, dr. peggy hamburg. >> thank you very much, howard koh and gil kerlikowske for all the work you have done in helping to shape this initiative and to lead at and thank you to

all of our colleagues and partners who are here today for your important work and for the month of hard work and collaboration you put into helping to make this national prescription drug abuse action plan a reality. it is very exciting to be participating today and the one to wonderscored the importance of government coming together in this way working with stakeholders on the outside to put together an action plan that addresseses key issues and lays out steps that we all must take working together to make a real and enduring difference in addressing this important problem for our nation and i am delighted to show fda's support for the administration's initiative and to share our new public health effort in this area. a physician and public health official about the serious

problems of misuse, abuse, illegal diversion and inappropriate prescribing and to outline important action we are taking to enhance the appropriate management and save you some of these potentially addictive and dangerous products. this action which will support and act in concert with the administration's new plan is part of a safety measure called risk evaluation and mitigation strategy which will now apply to all long acting and extended relief products. as i think you all can appreciate, o p os are part of pain management for single patients but can bring serious risk when used improperly. for years the fda as well as drug manufacturers and others have taken steps to prevent

these tragedies for additional warnings and product labeling, educational efforts, special projects, collaboration, issuing communication to health professionals and patients but despite these efforts the rates of misuse and abuse and accidental overdose are still on the rise. now we face an ongoing challenge and a dual responsibility. we must ensure that patients have access to the medications they need while also preventing misuse and abuse from the damaging health effects and the effect that extent not just individuals but devastate families and communities and our nation. that is where our ramp program comes in. we will require companies to developers management plans to address serious risks while balancing the unique risk

benefit profiles of this class of drugs. companies will be required to develop educational materials for please scribers and patients. our focus above all is to ensure that health professionals have the knowledge and training to deliver effective pain management and care and patients understand the risks of these products and we will do this to a two key features of the program. medication guide to help patients understand benefits and risks and new tools for prescribing training and patient education. we believe rigorous education for individual prescribe tours is critical supporting appropriate use and prescription drug diversion and abuse. the fda strongly supports the administration's call for mandatory subscribers education for viewers which will require an amendment to federal law but we feel would make a very significant difference to the

problem before us. at its core this program is about action. today i would like to announce that fda has sent letters to drug sponsors who market long acting and extended relief formulation for the subscription analgesic hydro more phone and talk the code only been morphine, methadone and transdermal, the letters layout requirements and direct the drug sponsors to develop and submit rems for these product. risk mitigation strategies. through a single shared system for all members of this drug class. fda will approve all materials before they can be implemented and expect all training will be conducted by a credited continuing education provider. we are serious about holding sponsors accountable for results and will conduct periodic assessments to insure that our

program is indeed effective at reducing tragic consequences of misuse and abuse and we will make a difference improving public health. i would like to note that fda received input from a variety of industry leaders, health professionals, patients and other stakeholders as we designed this program and we would like to thank those who contributed and those of you who will continue to contribute as we proceed with implementation. this is, after all, a problem that touches all of us in our professional and personal lives. and we will work together as we build safer and healthier america. michele leonhart will be the

next speaker. >> i want to thank gil kerlikowske to bringing us together not just this morning but to announce to the press what we have all done within government to adjust the problem. continued leadership on this issue and the drug enforcement administration, finding solutions to combat the epidemic of prescription drug abuse. demand for these drugs and a nation drug law to taking prescription drugs out of harm's way. we are engaged in this fight. and implementation of this national framework that provides guidance and clarity for the world had. the controlled substances, the responsibility and core to our very mission.

this includes registration, monitoring and enforcement of laws that provide oversight for health care professionals who write and fill prescriptions and tracking and modern of substances. many of these medicines are useful and provide great benefits for the patients they are prescribed for but when abused control prescription drugs are just as dangerous and just as addictive as street drugs like methamphetamines or apps. the only way to stop the abuse of prescription drugs the more effective we will be in reducing the destruction and despair that accompanies all drug abuse. d. a. has made it a priority to reduce doctor shopping and aggressively shutdown killed node and investigate those who abuse their responsibility as

medical professionals, violate the controlled substances act and break their pledge to the public to do no harm. as part of this plan the a will lead enforcement operations such as bill nation, largest against rogue operators in florida history. this is why d e a with federal partners is leading the way in eliminating a major source of prescription drug abuse. those prescription drugs that are unused, unwanted or expired in the homes of millions of americans. gil kerlikowske mentioned some disturbing prescription drug abuse statistics already but it is also important to remember that as much as 40% of all medications go unused which is more than 1.5 billion doses a year and more than half of teens believe prescription drugs are

easy to get from their own parents's medicine cabinet. soon the process for prescription drug disposal will be streamlined through secure and responsible drug disposal act signed by the president last year. and will be implemented by the a. until then we will continue to coordinate national prescription drug take back events. last year on one day alone a staggering 121 tons of prescription drugs were collected from 4,000 locations around the country. on saturday, april 30th we will have another take back day and invite the public, me and other partners to visit our web site, www. theyea.gov. join with us and to gather on april 30th each of us can contribute to the solution to help turn our about this trend

and win this fight against prescription drug abuse. now is my privilege to introduced to the podium karen per perry, executive director of smoke and someone we can all learn from. >> thank you. thank you to all of the agencies gathered here today working, collaborating on this much needed plan. seven years ago my family suffered a devastating loss of our 21-year-old son to an accidental drug overdose. rich was the oldest of four children. he was friendly, compassionate and had a warm sense of humor. he was raised to love and support his family, respect

himself and others. bill to be sincere, to work hard and to give back to the community. when my husband and i drove him to college his freshman year we were filled with pride and promise. just three years later our dreams were shattered. our precious son would be released to us from the seminole county medical examiner. we were faced with the unthinkable task of determining how rickey's body would be brought home for burial. we witnessed the horror and hurt in our surviving children's faces. we watched his younger brother's kerri rich's casket to his grave site. his sister kimberly saying everybody has an angel. and the nuns to was rich began his drug use in high school. by the time he was in college

his addiction had flourished and to his credit he came home to us and asked for help. following several months of treatment rich returned to school. he made the dean's list but at some point in time during that year back at school he relapsed. on june 27th, 2003, i spoke to rich at 11:57 in the morning. our conversation was brief and at the end he said to me, i love you, mom. i said i love you too, rich. that was the last time i ever spoke to my son. weeks after rich's death we went to the apartment he shared with a roommate. we were astounded to see numerous empty prescription drug bottles and prescription receipts from pharmacies on top of the friend's dresser.

the majority were for hawk the continent and at least three different doctors's names were on the prescriptions. rich's checkbook indicated he had been purchasing these drugs from his 21-year-old roommate. his roommate was held the, active and attending college. wild been prescribed these medications. overdose death is an irreparable and negative results of prescription drug misuse. 599 continues to wander back to the last months of richie's life. lionheart aches at the thought of my son wandering through a town alone and finally sharing the last precious hours of his existence with a person who cared not whether he lived or died but rather who would

provide the income with each purchase that richey made. my heart parents as i imagine richie's emotional state on his last day as i know it. his heart aching, his mind distorted, empty, loneliness, shame, self loathing. this image i have is very vivid. the image of an active addict is hard wrenching. i held richie's hand when he was 2 years old to cross the street. i held his hand when he was 10 and had his tonsils out. i held his hand when he was 19 for three hours on the steps of the treatment center as we both cried trying to get him

admitted. i was not there to hold his hand on the day that he died. and that breaks my heart. >> thanks. for all of us up here, thank you so much. we will take questions. some of you have a media tags on too so that will make a little easier. >> i want to thank you for all of your efforts on this. we know a lot of lives have been lost from drug overdose. i didn't hear a mention of a strategy, very affective evidence based strategy that has saved us thousands of lives nationwide in 16 states in the

last decade and this is -- i am referring to the rescue training as well as ramping up utilization of the tag in this medicine, and fred responders. i want to see how much you are considering making more use of this and increasing supply as well as manufacturing. >> we might defer the question because there are a lot of things in specific we are going through endeavour one up here, administrators, commissioner, very familiar -- there are a lot of others. >> one comment. what is important about this strategy and this initiative and broader effort is there is no

one solution involved, really putting together strategies that address all of the complexities that derive addiction and drug abuse and damage the lives of individuals and families has we have just so powerfully heard. using locks on this is critical. is one component of a broader strategy. >> it is temporary with elements of strategy requiring cooperation of congress. what is your outlook on that? what do you think about that? >> a very important question. dime a not be the best person to answer it.

this trading would be done, licensing physicians, foot medication is. is a no-brainer in terms of the importance of adding this additional tool, physicians to prescribe these drugs, understanding about appropriate use and potential. >> i do believe you will see great interest from members of congress on prescription drugs. they have been behind this all the way. first passing the ryan hate bill which allowed us to very effectively shut down rogue interest at -- internet sites which was a major source of

pills or being diverted. more recent after the take back in september, days later they passed the disposal act which will allow us to come up with regulation for safe disposal. i know we hear all the time there are concerns that education is key and our believe we will see action on part. [talking over each other] >> one question in two parts. you mentioned there with the prescription drug monitoring program for every stage. i wanted to find out if that would be mandatory. you mentioned the prescription drug monitoring program would encourage states to communicate with each other and would that

be mandatory? >> within federal funding is money to start prescription drug monitoring programs. there has been money to enhance prescription drug monitoring programs. we think the state answer is the best. states write them for their individual privacy and patient confidentiality concerns, work closely with boards of pharmacy and medical boards to make sure it is the right system for them and we encourage kentucky and ohio signed a memorandum of agreement in order to exchange disinformation at the request of the doctors. and patient safety issue. under the nasser legislation and the money that is right now with in the national institute of justice these restrictions are requirements that these things be done but we look at it as the best practice and the physicians

end users do also so we think if we go from 45 states to 50 states and share information we will be much further ahead on this issue. >> this question is for margaret hamburg. the fda advisory committee voted overwhelmingly against this plan. they said it wouldn't do enough. does your plan and go beyond what was before that panel? >> this is a huge challenge in terms of the best approach and a dynamic process in terms of the need to put forth programs and activities and evaluate their effectiveness. we feel very strongly that what we are moving forward and today

is important and will make a difference. the ability to really help to and hand provider education, make sure they a understand the issues and patient selection, risks of using these products, power to initiate and monitor treatment using these products and how to counsel their patients about risks and benefits and opprobrium loose -- use and medication guide for patients that will be in patient friendly language and enable them to better understand safe use and also importantly how all of these activities fit into the other festivities you have heard about after it is finished. the other elements we're talking

about in terms of requirements of providing education in the context of dea life insurer is important because we want to reach health care providers as they develop their prescribing practices to help them understand this issue in the broader context. it is a surprise to many health-care providers as it is to the public to understand the very damaging down side of the use of these drugs. you heard some statistics today about the burden of disease and preventable death associated with misuse so we are very committed moving forward as we are today but continuing to elaborate our efforts working in partnership and working with tools and authorities of the

fda. [inaudible] >> there will be prepared by drug companies but they will be carefully reviewed by the fda and approved prior to implementation. we will be very attuned to making sure these materials are medically and scientifically appropriate and targeting for critical issues that need to be addressed in terms of assuring opprobrium comprehensive health care provider education. >> other questions? yes? >> we are hearing the statistics that people who miss use drugs get them from friends or family. that is a very large universe that includes people who may have taken one bill from a friend in the last year.

and presumably the number of people who have a real problem is a subgroup and is very different. do we know anything more about that subgroup? >> there are a couple things that trouble everyone when it comes to data particularly around drug abuse and drug treatment. that is when we have to quote 2007 statistics. that is why in president obama's drug strategy last may in the oval office there's an entire chapter devoted to trying to gather more relevant information across the whole spectrum. you don't want policymakers making recommendations. you don't want congress to be in the position of passing laws without more information but we know a couple things. initiation of drug use by youth is occurring faster from the medicine cabinet than from

smoking marijuana. that is a significant concern. we know the number of deaths, we know the number of people going into treatment for addiction to these. we know the number of people through the system involving emergency department. the number of people coming in. all of this has a significant effect on health care issues. that is why there are a number of parts of the new health care law that actually making information more widely available and being able to deal with this problem is so helpful. electronic health records being one particular example that would be greatly helpful. >> a couple money questions. is there an overall amount to implementing this plan? >> here is the good news on the

money problem. i know you look at me questioning that. we have looked at and understood that if we come together as a group and we pull our assets and knowledge and resources the ability to have administrative actions taken, the ability to use local law enforcement in this volunteer way across the country, 4,000 places last year, you will see even more, all of this is in the spirit of cooperation so there's very little money involved how. we are not coming back with a budget sheet that says if you're going to expect us to do this, in this austere budget problem, this is what the american citizens really expect of us to be smart, work together and be strategic so i would tell you there's almost everything in this plan that can be

accomplished and as a longtime police chief i am a pretty cynical person. i am incredibly optimistic that in the next year we will make a down turn in this problem. [inaudible] >> -- develop the training, now that will be required of drug companies but physician participation will be voluntary. under the -- you are not talking about under the law that you will try to enact but right now is mandatory? >> it will be voluntary under the development. we are going to work closely with a number of people and to be prepared to actually see a lot put into place that will make this mandatory. ..

>> specific for the hispanic community what is the incidence and severity of this problem, and what part of this plan is designed to help minorities? >> there's some data that's been gathered on the growing prescription drug abuse issue, particularly in the latino community. we recently just a few months ago at a press release on that,

so i can provide you with some of those details, but we wouldn't be talking about a national plan and an educational plan if we were not understanding and reflective of the diversity of this country. it would make no sense for us to put that together and not make sure that we were making this widely understood, widely available to all of the different diverse populations in the united states. thank you. thank you all very much. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> good afternoon to. please.d turner andder ted energy entrepreneur t. boone pickens on renewable andcome to alternative energy. including solar and wind investments. mr. pickens also talked abouted. his plan to convert the nation's heavy-duty and long haul truck fleets to natural gas. from the national press club this is an hour. the n al we are the world's ladies --n leading professionalization for proggalists to our programming, events such as this while alsooo trying to foster free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club please visit

our website at www.national pressan club.org. on behalf of our members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speakers and those of you attending the event today. we have a full house. our head table includes guest of our speakers as well as working journalists were club members. if you hear applause in the audience, members of the general public are in attendance and we are grateful for that. it does not necessarily evidence of a lack of journalistic object i would also like to welcome our cspan and publicly audiences. our luncheons are featured on our weekly podcast from the national press club available on itunes. you can also follow the action on twitter. after our guest speeches conclude, we will have q &a and

they will get at as many questions as time permits. i would ask each of you to stand up briefly as your name is announced. beginning with charlie leoka, editorial director with consumer travel alliance. bill loveless post ofplatt's energy week, joe rothstein, allen beurga, bloomberg news. we are grazed by the presence of mrs. madeleine pickens, wife of mr. pickens. maryland gewak and vice chair of our speaker committee. we will speed over the guests and myself. a list of charbonneau -- elissa charbonneau and kate.

elizabeth dewberry is a guest of mr. turner. terlinsky, mightsorhan, robert uhn from cnn,tomgdoggett, please give them a round of applause. [applause] our guests today are a pair of businessman turned plant the pressed coming to us with a plea and a pledge parliament toward alternative energy sources. ted turner is the founder of cbs and cnn and the chairman of ted turner enterprises. he has been devoted to environmental causes, politically and financially

president in the alternative fuel debate. he is developing a message for people of all ages on the importance of rescuing the planet. he is also taking on solar energy projects. he is pursuing making the rounds to speak to students in colleges where he tells them that the informant is the most difficult challenge the world will face, more important than iraq, and he also appeals to you with an animated series called "captain planet adn the planeteers. " he is putting his money where his mouth as with the multimillion-dollar stake in solar, the world's largest maker of thin film solar powered modules. he has more than a passing interest in wind power. mr. turner has a habit of

speaking freely. on the charlie rose show, he said steps were not taken to address global warming, but most of those people will have died in the rest of us will be cannibals. he is the largest private landowner in the united states. he has owned the largest bison herd and found a restaurant chain serving by some meat. some are in the located in washington. t. boone pickens whose background is oil maximize self- declared surprising environmentalist. he chairs the bp capital management. he is returning to our luncheon series to give us an update on his energy policy proposal called the pickens plan which calls for a reduction in u.s. dependency on foreign energy, particularly oil through the introduction of various alternatives. he tells us today he believes the plan as a good chance of passage with the support of president obama. he announced his intention to

build the world's largest windfarm which was postponed due to financing, his company is now betting largely on natural gas as an alternative for transportation. he has been named one of the world's most influential people by time magazine and the american wind energy person of the year. he gained the endorsement of the sierra club and has written two new york times bestsellers. he spent $62 million of his personal wealth to support the plan and has enlisted people in his pickens' army. he writes that the first billion dollars is the hardest and his biggest beef with the government is that the u.s. has not adapted a strategy, any strategy for adopting alternative energy sources. our speakers interests include sports but mr. turner was owner of the atlanta braves and said to have been hands-on. he founded the goodwill games. mr. pickens has given hundreds of million dollar of dollars to

oklahoma state university and says he does not miss a football game. that includes the largest single donation to university's collegiate athletic program in history. both are signatories to the giving pledge, a campaign to encourage the nation's wealthiest individuals to promise to give most of their money to charity. mr. turner is known for founding cnn, they both also share a background in journalism. both delivered newspapers as boys. [laughter] before we turn things over to mr. turner, i would like to know that tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the deep water horizon explosion was led to the bp oil spill. please give a warm national press club welcome to both of our speakers and mr. turner will begin. [applause] >> my main concern is survival of the human race.

as important as i think queen and renewable energy is, as part of that, i don't put it as number 1. i say the existence and danger of nuclear weapons is the greatest danger that we face and a top priority is to get rid of them as quickly as possible. i am not talking about nuclear power. that is a home other issue. i'm talking about the weapons like the one we dropped on hiroshima that killed 250,000 people in one day and later at nagasaki. we could get rid of those weapons. the security council of the un voted last year unanimously to get rid of them. we need implementations. we are lacking in that at the current time. it is complicated but it is real simple. get rid of all of them. that is the only way it will work. it will not work for us to have

2000 a clear weapons and iraq to have two. that will not work. we have to all get rid of them at the same time. the second tremendous challenge that we face is the growth in human population numbers. there are just too many people in the world right now, 7 billion, 1 billion of us already live in under and deprivation. if we add, as is predicted, another 1 billion over the next 10 years and it goes up to 9 billion over the next 10 years after that, we will have 3 billion people that are starving. we just really have to get serious about family planning and it needs to be voluntary, in my opinion. if we cannot restrain our numbers voluntarily, maybe we don't deserve to be here if we

have to have laws and penalties for having children. i don't think that would be good the third challenge that we face that is overwhelming is the environment, the whole issue of the environment, not just the energy policy which is the most important thing right now under the environmental heading. the oceans are collapsing from over-fishing. the range land all over the angered and dang end farming in an unsustainable way. we have to straighten out our care of the environment and cutting back on the growth in human numbers is the most important thing we can do. the more of us there are, the more pressure is put on the environment.

next but very important is clean, renewable energy. i think we need to move very quicklyboone will talk about natural gas. i described as a bridge fuel, particularly, i feel that the fracking situation, we have to feel better about that and make sure it is not to environmentally damaging. clean, renewable energy, i foresee 20 years from now, a world where there is no more fossil fuel being used. it served us well for several hundred years, since the industrial revolution but it is time to move on to clean, renewable energy. for economic reasons, too. in the end, it will be the least expensive because it is basically free. as part of claim renewable

energy, we need a modern grid. we need a modern energy system and that is clean renewals. bles. we will have a world without pollution. that will be pretty amazing. our kids will not be getting as ma and it will be quiet. it will be a nice world and i hope i live long enough to see it. i hope you do, too. if we're not going to do it, we will not live very long anyway. we will either do it or we will diverted is present all. [laughter] thank you very much. >> i want to talk about energy security for america.

we have gone 40 years in this country and we have had no energy plan, zero. we are the largest country in the world, the only country in the world without an energy plan. we have used more fuel than any other country in the world. today, there is 88 million barrels of oil produced everywhere in the world and we are using 21 million of it. the oilmost 25% of all used every day and we have 4% of the population. if you look at that, we are using 25% with 4% of the population, we could be the cause of $100 oil. we are way out of balance with the rest of the world. we have no energy plan. 40 years, no plan. why? because we had cheap oil. that was it. neither party, republican or democrat, had an energy plan. somebody said that is an obvious

bipartisan effort to not do anything. [laughter] and maybe so. nobody had time to tackle it. we are now at a critical point. if we go forward 10 years like we have operated for the last 40 years, in 10 years from now, you will pay $400 per barrel for the oil and we will be importing 75% of our oil. today, we are importing 66% at $100 of oil tenures will be all it takes to get to that point because oil is a finite resource and it is running out. when we look at the fourth quarter this year, you will be able to check whether i know what i'm talking about, in the fourth quarter of this year, demand is projected for 90 million barrels per i don't think the world can produce

that. if they can't, the only way you can kill the man does with price. price will go up. it will kill demand. we will go forward with demand that will be in balance with supply. do we have resources in america to take care of it ourselves? absolutely. you've got the green ables, wind and solar they do not replace transportation fuel. 70% of all the oil used everywhere in the world goes to transportation fuel. you have to get something that will stand up with oil to reduce the importance of oil. we are paying $1,500 million per day for imported oil two-thirds of our trade deficit is not sustainable. nobody ever speak to that. if you go back over the

president's from nixon ford, nixon said in 1970 that the end of the decade we will not seek -- import any oil. at that point, we imported 24%. at the end of the decade, we imported 28%. he never spoke to the question again. you have one right after the other. they all say the same thing, he let me and we will be energy independent. nobody ever says you told us, like obama, in 10 years, we will not import any oil from the mideast. that was very clear. bob schieffer and i had lunch and i told him to ask how long we will import oil from the enemy. >> he did not know whether he

could get away with that. they did ask about imported oil and obama said the same thing. in 10 years, we will not import any oil from the mideast. we are now three years into that. . i have never seen anybody say that you said in 10 years, how are we doing on your plan to cover oil from the mideast? nobody ever asked him the question it does not happen. i am in a place where i am talking to people in the press. one of you please, ask the president -- [applause] ok, can get it fixed? we can. we have lots of natural gas. that is 700 billions of barrels of oil equivalent. that is three times what the saudis have. we do not have one politician that has said that we may not be as bad off as we think we are on energy.

we have plenty of energy here. we can take care of ourselves. it can happen. it can be fixed. natural gas is cleaner, cheaper, abundant, it is ours, why not? we will use dirty, imported oil from opec and now they are talking about exporting our natural gas. ok, we will send a clean, cheap, stuck out and take a dirty from the enemy. we are starting to border on not looking very smart. [laughter] stupid is about where we are. we have resources that can solve the problem and we still do not have any movement. is this president's fault? it is the last 10 president's fault? not one had ever done anything. this president is starting to talk about natural gas. he even used my name in his last energy speech.

he said this legendary oil man is working in this field. my wife should cancel the president -- my wife shook hands with the president and he said to her that your husband is working hard for the energy problem that the united states faces. we are in communication, sort of. he never calls me but -- [laughter] i am always available. you have heard my problem. it is a security issue with us. ted is a little bit brighter green and i am. i am green. the epa must allow the test -- if you gave me a saliva test, i would pass. my primary focus is on the energy security for america. i am all-american. i will take anything here in america. c takeoal, anything american

and -- i will take coal, anything american in place of middle east oil. [applause] >> ted, did you have a an immediate response? >> we don't agree about everything. we agree mostly. >> why don't you tell us what you don't agree on. ? >> well, i am a little greener and a little cleaner. [laughter] >> that's right [laughter] >> i don't think we should export coal. we should capita and let it sit there it whinnied hydrocarbons for plastics anyway. our children will ask why we burned up all are hydrocarbons. it will be valuable to build things than to burn. the sun is setting their free

every day going to waste. solar works like a charm and the technology is already here and so is the winds technology. we spend more on research and start implementing wind and solar and geothermal, we will develop a better technology like we have in computers and it will be even more efficient. >> on the cost of kilowatt-hour is, the most expensive is solar, $6,300 per kilowatt hour. second, because we have changed how we c inoal, it has moved up to 5300. then you drop to 2400 for went. then you drop to 1500 for natural gas.

we are capitalists. we are trying to find the cheapest deal that we can make the most money off of it. that is what capitalism is. there's nothing wrong with that. if you are going to look at it on cost, i tried to build the web -- biggest win farm ever built. the wind is priced of the margin. the price is natural gas perwind gets a natural gas price. natural gas at the time was $8. today, it is $4. $6 i have to have to finance that wind farm. i may deal with general electric four years ago. i bought the turbines and they are starting to be delivered in my -- and my garage is not big in [laughter] to take 500 turbines.

i will build a wind farm in ontario, canada and minnesota. it will not be in the panhandle of texas where i wanted. i did not get the transmission there. they promised transmission and they never delivered. i would like to leave you with this point -- one mcf of natural gas is $4 and is equal to. the only thing that will move an 18-wheeler will be either diesel or natural gas. a battery will not move an 18- wheeler. what are the options? that's it. the only one we have that will replace foreign oil to move the 18-wheeler is natural gas. one mcf of natural gas for $4 = $7 apiece -- of diesel. 7 gallons of diesel is $30. the cleaner, cheaper, cheaper,

cheaper compared to the forum, dirty diesel, you are talking about the cost would be 25% very you have to do some compression and there are other factors. if you had in 18 deaths wheeler today and you bought a natural gas one instead of going diesel, your fuel would be $1.50 cheaper. that is overpowering. if it is so cheap, why doesn't it work without h passingr 1380? because i want direction. i want this president to say this is where we are going. this is what we will do. we will get on our own resources and this is the way it will work. we'll take the 8,000,018- wheelers -- we will take the 8 million 18-wheeler's.

$5 million is a lot of money. we've got 8 million vehicles. they would go $60,000 for a tax credit because the incremental difference in those vehicles is $60,000. don't make your truckers pay to be patriotic. it will be a hurry up program $8 billion per year will only get you, at the end of five years, 143,000 trucks. you don't even have enough money to do the job. i don't have to have the money to get it started very he give me the money to get started. give us the direction, mr. president. we will go in that direction because we are patriotic people and we are not stupid. we can save $1.50 per gallon and get help just to get kicked off. all this will happen ve.

i made another speech, a starter [applause] >> how do you retool those trucks? >> infrastructure. i have a model for everything i do. by don't dor &d. r takes to in years andd takes 10 years and that puts me or the line. i looked at california because they dealt with air quality issues there for 20 or 30 years. cs -- the south coast air quality districts as air quality issues in southern california and the guy that runs it is a smart guy. he now has to reduce his emissions in southern california. he asked who the biggest polluters are. trash trucks because there were 24-7 and i idol and they have an inefficient burned.

what is the incremental cost differences? 50,000. on a scale that maris. he said to give them $50,000 and when they buy a new one, they have to buy natural gas but they do not have to get rid of their diesel. when they do get rid of their diesel, one diesel taken off the streets and southern california is equal to 325 cars. one 18-wheeler taken off the highway is equal to 1600 cars. on emissions. it is that much cleaner. he said to do it. the southern california trash trucks, natural gas, all trash trucks built this year, 75% of them will be on natural gas. that was started by the california model seven years ago. i know it works.

infrastructure will come with the trucks. that is a business in and of itself. you don't need to have a government building filling stations. can you imagine? go back to henry ford when he said that everyone will have a model t ford. they asked if he realized that they have no filling stations. we cannot do it. [laughter] forget the idea. was a bad idea. maybe a little inconvenience. what to the 8 million do for you? in seven years, it is 2.5 million barrels per day and it cuts opec in half. we get 5 million per day off them and we are paying for both sides of the war. there was a great op-ed piece april 9 of 2010.

it said that we are paying for both sides of the war and i truly believe that is the case. we don't look very smart doing that. >> is there anything you have to add? >> i don't like war either. for it andaying losing, what everyone in afghanistan and iraq and what we want in libya? the last time we won the war was world war two because that was the last time anybody surrendered to us. not even grenada surrendered. you don't win unless the other side admits they were beaten. >> i agree 100% on this point guard with to get those people out of afghanistan. >> that would save a lot of money right there a d themeamn right. [applause] >> next time send scientists and

engineers and doctors and maybe a few lawyers over to help out rather than send soldiers. the bombs did not do any good. >> let me ask questions from the audience. i will paraphrase in the interest of. time you are both essentially unhappy with the status quo. you say we're going back at least 40 years. have there been structural or political impediments to getting these reforms in place? does it have to do with how campaigns are financed? why is it that it has taken until at least this year that we have not weaned ourselves off foreign oil? >> there are two reasons. by embracing an answer is, believe it or not.

your leadership in washington did not understand the problem or did not feel it was important not to pursue and second, you had to boil. cheap oil is -- you had cheap oil. i have had conversations with the saudis and they say to me that if you come with alternatives, we will lower the price of oil. they said that to me. i believe it. that is exactly what they do. we don't come up with anything. we could have some control over our energy future if we just understood what the situation was. we don't have time to address that problem. we have cheap oil. >> what is keeping reform from happening? >> the oil and coal lobbies who have all the money have done a

masterful job of confusing everybody. i go to bed at night praying for clean coal and i know there is no such thing but have seen so many ads for it -- [laughter] they are persuading me that it is possible. , almost. if president obama had just taken the energy and climate change bill and put it first before health care, we have gotten it through. we were ready. he spent all this political capital and that was more contentious than we thought. then the call and the oil industry counterattacked with their ad campaign. the solar and wind industries ran out of money and could not

match to them. which is got beat. we have to be really careful because this law that was just upheld that corporations can spend all the might want to on political campaigns, that worries me that we may lose our democracy. we're close to losing it now. [applause] it really worries me. the government is supposed to serve the people but it is not. it is not serving the people's best interest it did, we would have clean energy now. we would be doing the smart thing rather than the dumb thing. i am really worried about it. i keep hoping that things will get better, but that law, letting the corporations spend anything they want to, it is likely koch brothers in kansas.

they are smart guys. they are in the oil business and they spend millions at the heritage foundation. they are kicking our butts. we cannot continue to let it happen without serious negative consequences which we are already experiencing. >> the koch interest and the heritage foundation are not for me. >> i did not say they [laughter] word. were. >> i didn't say you are. >> those guys are not helping me. >> i am not happy with gas and our 18-wheelers. >> the major oil companies, see them for what they are. they are international oil companies. take exxon, is it a good

company? of course it is. is it will run? absolutely. they work for shareholders. they do not work for america. they are international company. a 4% of the revenues come from offshore. -- 84% of the revenues come from offshore. alas president bush, there were one of his biggest advisers on energy and make america. that is not who you go to for energy in america. you go to energy experts in america, not an international oil company agreed it does not make sense. [applause] >> another question to mr. pickens. a recent report from the cornell scholars found that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas may result in excess greenhouse gas emissions, possibly worse than cold. al. how does this change the plan? >> those of the only figures

i've heard a that says coal is cleaner than natural gas. there is no question that natural gas is cleaner variant natural gas was the fuel to clean up california. some of you are old enough iam,, ted you're not. [laughter] you flew into los angeles and you could see it. they have a bad smog in los angeles. it was yellow/brown. that has all cleaned up with natural gas. 2800 buses in la mta . the largest bus company in the world is in beijing. paid cornell to do that. that guy has a half a dozen things in that report.

i have never seen anybody and with those conclusions that he ends with in that deal. there will be people that will look at it. m.i.t. responded and they did not think much of it. who paid him to do this study? that is the place to go. >>ted mentions that he wished the environmental downside of natural gas extraction could be better address. what about that? >> the firstfrack job i saw was in 1953. how did that with my first well. a 1957 until now, i have fracked over 3000 wells. he is talking about that the

will -- well is drought -- drilled -- he is talking about that the well is drilled down. the hole is drilled to 1,000 feet, they run a string casing and close it off. i work in an area where sand of aquafer.stfe korf we were conscious of this. we put in cement and rolled down to 15,000 feet. you complete the well there. you are 2-3 miles below the freshwater sand. you tell me how they frack job to mile down can get back up into the fresh water sand. i never had it happen and i know nobody else where it happens. all the complaints are coming from pennsylvania.

that is a m in thearcellus. they have drilled over 800,000 wells in oklahoma, kansas, and texas. i do not know of any losses or any complaint or anything else. why is it all right there in pennsylvania and western new york? they have now said that you will frack these wells in the watershed. that is where it rains. but don't know what that is. it rains and the watershed and runs into a lake. frack the lake or the watershed. you go to a thousand miles under the surface. they don't know what will happen to the water in new york. they need someone intelligent, a leader to say this is what the deal is.

don't worry, watch what i am telling you. check the facts. that is all you have to do. it is not complicated. it is very simple. they want me to feel guilty. i feel like i did yesterday. [laughter] >> are you as confident about the environmental implications? >> he knows more about it. he is an oil man. i was a tv and [laughter] man. >> i trust to godte is,d. do you trust us? [laughter] >> do you -- do you believe the climate change is a natural phenomenon? fewer americans believe to be a real problem. >> your than what? it before?

>> i don't know. how serious do you believe the problem is? >> i think it is a life or death issue. i am a real expert when it comes to nature and of the temperature goes up six degrees fahrenheit, it will make life on earth very difficult for most of the creatures including humans. >> how do you feel about it? >> i made geologist and we can take you back in time were you had drought that would extend over maybe 1 million years. we have had ice ages that were hundreds of thousands of years. we know the temperature can remain constant or fluctuate or whatever. believe it or not, i am one of the few geologists that believes

in climate change. [applause] i think all of us skirred up a lot of what -- i think a lot of us screw up what we emit into the atmosphere. i don't think it will happen real quick. it is like a problem with energy and america. you had a cheap oil. you have climate change but if you're cheap oil had run up to $200 per barrel, something would have happened. somebody would have figured out a better way. on climate change, it does not go up fast enough. it goes along and some people think that as part of the change. i am ready to take measures to

restrict emissions into the atmosphere. if i am long, i did not heard myself. -- a did nothurt myself. if we find it in 20 years that there is no climate change, i did not do something that hurt. i did not do anything wrong, but if i go out 20 years and i keep saying there is no climate change, and then i say that it did mean something, and if i did not do anything about it, that is bad. high pay to set up things that make all of us look stupid. i feel stupid sometimes about the way things go. why do we let it happen? i am not in the role of leadership. i cannot stop these things. ted is a leader.

he stepped up. [laughter] he says $62 million, i spent $82 million on this. that will get to something. have i got my money's worth? i will win i pass hr 1830. ted has been on this. i did not agree with him and we talked at 10 years ago and i said i am not going for the climate change stop but i do now. i am ready to throw in. [applause] >> other than talking to ted, what changed your mind a [laughter] ? >> i am interested in polar bears, too. but icecap is sure disappearing fast. i don't go for the funny

whether. i can remember when we had tornadoes and flooding and all kinds of things. the way the ice is disappearing fast, i had some experience with of the glaciers and you can see what is happening there. it is getting warm where the ice is. that is not normal, i don't think. >> here's a question for mr. turner. you have a partnership to build solar power. do you plan to do without federal subsidies? >> it depends on the situation. there needs to be some subsidies. we are now subsidized coal and oil big time. over the years, they have been the source of economic subsidies. wind and solar and geothermal

are not being subsidized because they were not here to get in line to get their spot at the feed trough. levelingally playing field, wind and solar have a better chance with subsidies stacked against them on the fossil fuel industry. we are subsidizing the wrong thing but we did it over 200 years of the industrial revolution. we have been giving them breaks all the way along. not having the polluting companies paid health care, i think the polluters should do the paying. if they were, claim renewable

energy would be competitive. [applause] >> if you look at where the most wind energy and solar energy is, do you know where it is? >> in the midwest? germany. terminate they don't have wind or saw [laughter] on. they're really down. germanyey really don't gets their natural gas from russia. i was young but i remember stalingrad and leningrad and there were 5 million people killed there. there were about 3 million germans and 2 million russians. those people in russia and germany remember that. the germans do not want to get

dependent on the russians. they take gas from them but they went in and subsidized wind and solar and paid a hell of a price for it but that is what they thought of as security. that is my pitch here. we have a security issue with opec oil. we don't even address the but they did. we ran some of those ads is that you may remember this show the globe and the lights are on and said ", and then one day one person does not have gas it clicked off eastern europe pic." guess who came to see made? e? they sat on the ad, you are cutting off our service area. i know, i meant to.

they don't like it. they watch this stuff that i put up. two weeks after we launched the pickens plan, i was at the democratic convention. was aon't remember i letter this -- that i was a republican. i get out of politics and went to the democratic convention. that surprised many people. i had never been to one in my life. they are a bunch of nice people. [laughter] i am their and my wife who was born in iraq and her mother is lebanese and their father is english and emigrated to the united states when she was 18 years old. she has friends from that part of the world and she got a call at my friend and wanted us to go

to dinner. we went to dinner and i thought it would be 15 or 20 people. it was five people. the first question was asked of me. what is your pickens' plan? i said i want to get off of your oil. i smiled when i said it. but we are friends. i said i know we need to get on our own resources. they're watching that close. in two weeks, there were asking me what this plan was. they could see what i was going to do. i was going to get on our resources in -- and get off of their oil. that's what it was. [applause] >> you both earlier talked about

the inability of our policy makers and leaders to forge an effective energy policy. just yesterday, there is a headline that standard and poor's essentially warned that the u.s. is at risk of not forcing an adequate solution to the deficit and in the near term, the debt ceiling is looming. how do you feel about how washington is managing the financial situation in the united states right now? >> i'm not happy with it. i am concerned when your credit rating is downgraded and that is what happened yesterday, that is not good. >> they warned on the outlook which was longer term. they said it was along the road to downgrading the credit rating. do you think republicans and democrats can come together and find a solution? >> i am not comfortable with the

way the parties are getting along with each other. i am concerned about our ability to compromise and run our country in an intelligent, forward-thinking manner. >> what do you think? >> i think they are doing a fabulous job. [laughter] they are working so well together and act like they're not but i know they really are. do you feel that way? no >>. >> i am not here to express my opinion bit. >> i'm not a fool. i agree with ted. i try to let myself to my subject. i feel like i can represent that i am five-feet wide and 50 feet deep on one subject i think

congress has accepted me that way. they realize i am a serious person with a serious plan. i have both sides that call me and ask me about energy. question s. i made a speech last week in california. there -- in this county, people are very liberal. they asked how i think they've view me. >i said i think they view me as a patriotic old man with a good idea and i got big applause. i think i am viewed that way and that is the way i want to be. [applause] >> ted, everybody knows originally as that c founder cnn.he founder of how you feel about that as an

enterprise today? >> they went in for more serious news and more international news like they used to. i am an old geezer, too. i am not there anymore. there's nothing worse than asking somebody in my position what they think of the company based thereon is being run today. that is not really fair. >> i wrote ted a note any probably doesn't remember. i said you have done more to open up the world than anybody i have ever seen. [applause] you showed people all over the world how we lived and what opportunities they would have if they had a democracy. you are the guy that showed the world what the world really look like. >> what you think about that?

>> it makes me feel good. [laughter] >> on the other side of the television equation, you have not always had kind words about the perceived competition which includes fox news. do you sample across the media landscape? how you feel about rupert murdoch and news corp. and a job at fox news does? >> i think he has done a real good job with "the wall street journal." he is a little far right for me on television. with fox news. that is me. i think they have every right to do it. it does not seem to be irresponsible >> since you gentlemen are no strangers to the news business and this was a the news business and this was a return trip to