Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens wants to wean America from its ruinous $700 billion a year foreign oil habit.

Better yet, he has a plan to do it. "What we have to do is get started on a plan," he stressed to the Wichita Eagle editorial board Wednesday.

The Pickens Plan is not perfect, but it's a good starting point for a national discussion about our energy future.

As Pickens said, the problem is simple: America imports 70 percent of its oil, and with demand now exceeding supply, prices have "turned vertical," strangling America's economy and undermining its security. And we can't drill our way out of this problem, Pickens argues -- contrary to the rhetoric of President Bush and other Republicans.

His solution: Boost wind energy to supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity needs (a realistic goal, according to the Department of Energy), replacing the roughly 20 percent of natural gas now used to create electricity. That natural gas could then be used as transportation fuel for natural gas vehicles -- reducing the need for imported oil by one-third.

It looks good on paper -- and as Pickens noted, the massive wind expansion in Kansas and other Great Plains states could revitalize rural areas with wind-related jobs and lease revenue.

Still, the Pickens Plan has its weaknesses, say energy experts. Some question the move to displace existing natural gas turbine plants. Why mothball that $400 billion investment in one of the cleaner, more efficient forms of electricity production?

The idea looks even shakier when you consider that natural gas turbines, which generate mostly peak, on-demand power, offer a good backup source for wind, which is more intermittent.

Moreover, Pickens described natural gas vehicles as a "bridge" to future technology such as plug-in electric cars. But auto companies are racing to roll out electric car models within a couple of years. So why make a huge investment in natural gas vehicles and fueling stations when more efficient and emissions-friendly cars are just around the corner?

At any rate, Pickens has done the nation a service by moving energy policy to the front burner and emphasizing the need for a specific, pragmatic plan that goes beyond partisan rhetoric.

"A fool with a plan can defeat a genius with no plan," he aptly noted. And Pickens is no fool.

He's right that "we're in a different world" now, where cheap oil is a thing of the past.

And he's right that realizing any next-generation energy plan will take real leadership in Washington, where Congress has yet to renew a much-needed production tax credit for wind.

That lack of political will might be the biggest energy crisis the nation is facing.

Editorial by the Wichita Eagle