Oil, energy icon T. Boone Pickens to speak at IU

Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens is bringing his mission to wean the nation off of foreign oil to IU.

Pickens will speak Sept. 18 at the IU Auditorium. His address, which is open to students, faculty and guests, will be called “America’s Foreign Oil Dependency Crisis.”

Pickens is the founder of a self-funded grassroots campaign called the “Pickens Plan,” which is aimed at reducing the nation’s dependence on imported oil.

His plan includes a call for the nation to invest in wind and solar energy, rebuild the nation’s electrical grid and replace gasoline with natural gas in cars and trucks.

Pickens founded the oil company Mesa Petroleum in 1956 and last year he launched the $58 million campaign to advertise his plan.

CNN named him the “Oracle of Oil” and he is the author of several books, including last year’s best seller, “The First Billion is the Hardest.”

This year TIME magazine named him as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.