Ted Turner and T. Boone Pickens to Debate Clean Energy at National Press Club

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Mar 01, 2011, 01:57 ET

Media Mogul and Texas Billionaire Turn to Renewable Sources to Roll Back U.S. Oil Dependence, April 19

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ted Turner, CEO of Turner Enterprises, will face off with T. Boone Pickens, CEO of BP Capital Management, at a National Press Club Speakers Luncheon, April 19. Mr. Turner will discuss renewable and alternative energy, his most recent solar projects in New Mexico and Atlanta, climate change, and nuclear disarmament. Mr. Pickens will address his crusade to reduce America's dependence on OPEC oil, which he highlights as a threat to the U.S. economy and national security. He will also outline his "Pickens Plan" to reduce dependency through the use of renewables in power generation, and the replacement of OPEC oil/diesel/gasoline with cleaner, lower cost natural gas in heavy duty fleet applications.

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Mr. Turner is chairman of the Turner Foundation, which supports efforts to improve air and water quality, develop a sustainable energy future to protect the climate, safeguard environmental health, maintain wildlife habitat protection, and develop policies to curb population growth rates. He founded CNN, the world's first live, 24-hour global news network, and he originated the "Superstation" concept with the TBS Superstation. Turner launched the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), and as an international philanthropist has pledged up to $1 billion to the United Nations Foundation (UNF). He has been one of TIME 100 World's Most Influential People, Broadcasting and Cable's Man of the Century in 1999, and Time magazine's 1991 Man of the Year.

Dubbed the "Oracle of Oil," T. Boone Pickens heads BP Capital, an energy-oriented investment fund responsible for formulating energy futures investment strategy of the BP Capital Commodity Fund and the BP Capital Equity Fund. Mr. Pickens' business interests range from ranch development initiatives to Clean Energy. Through Mesa Water, Pickens is the largest private holder of permitted groundwater rights in the United States. Clean Energy is advancing the use of natural gas as a cleaner-burning and more cost-effective transportation fuel alternative to gasoline and diesel. Mesa Power is developing energy alternatives such as wind power. As a philanthropist, Pickens has given away a half billion dollars and has appeared multiple times on The Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of top U.S. philanthropists.

The April 19 Press Club luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. Remarks by Turner and Pickens will begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. Advance reservations should be made through (202) 662-7501 or [email protected]. Luncheon admission is $18 for National Press Club members, $29 for their guests, and $36 for the general public. Tickets must be purchased at time of reservation.

National Press Club Luncheons are webcast live on press.org. Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #NPCLunch, or on Facebook at (facebook.com/PressClubDC) and Twitter (@PressClubDC). Submit questions for speakers in advance and during the live event by sending them to @QNPCLunch on Twitter. Or email a question in advance; type TURNER/PICKENS in the subject line and send to [email protected] before 10 a.m. on April 15.

The Press Club is on the 13th floor, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Credentialed press may cover this event.

About the National Press Club the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists with more than 3,400 members worldwide representing every major news organization. More than 250,000 people visit the Club each year to attend more than 2,000 events. The Club was founded in 1908 and is on the web at press.org.

SOURCE National Press Club