National Journal: Q: You know, you have really changed the world with your conversation about wind energy. [PickensPlan.com] is really an incredible Web site -- these videos, the ads, what you're doing. For those who haven't seen it, which means they don't live here in the United States -- but why don't you just give us a quick one minute on how you think you have the answer to the energy issue?

Pickens: OK. The problem first: We are paying now $700 billion a year for foreign oil. We're going to break the country, is what's going to happen. If we go 10 years at this, and we've been doing it for 40 -- not at that level, but we have... our imports have gone up from 24 percent in 1970 to now -- we're almost 70 percent, and by 10 years from now, in 2018, we'll be up to 80 percent. It's crazy, we're insane to do what we're doing.

OK. That's where I'm approaching the problem. Now, when I look at the solutions -- we only have one natural resource in America that can replace foreign oil, and that is natural gas. Natural gas is a better transportation fuel than gasoline, so if that's the case, it's cheaper, it's cleaner and it's a domestic resource. So we have to go to natural gas; we don't have any choice if we're going to reduce the $700 billion. And I think within less than 10 years we could reduce that by 30 to 40 percent -- the import of foreign oil.

So you know, when I see it, I see only winners here. And then I fold in a wind project to help it all, but you'll get into that on some questions here.

Q: Absolutely. In fact, let me ask you about that. Let's start with wind, because your own state of Texas yesterday agreed to a $4.9 billion plan -- now it's new transmission lines. Can you explain the transmission lines and how it works with the wind power?

Pickens: Yes, they're going to build -- that's a [unintelligible] system, that's our transmission in Texas -- and they're going to build these lines and extend it into the wind area -- which is up in the panhandle of Texas -- which will be very helpful for us.

Q: But how? I mean, if it's such an effective way, why wasn't it done before?

Pickens: Listen, that is a question you can ask about the problems with energy in America. I mean, why wasn't it done before? For 40 years, Tammy, 40 years, we have had no leadership on energy in this country. Can you imagine that we drifted, drifted, drifted like we have, and we're so dependent on foreign oil? You know, it's the same thing; government moves very slow, as you know, and they are reactive instead of proactive. Government is not like business and industry is.

Q: So business right now has to push and prod governments to get into this?

Pickens: What we've got to do, is we've got to come up with some leadership in Washington that recognizes the problem and you know, then has a plan, and they tell us this is what we're going to do, because the American people are fed up with this...