Wind power should account for 20% of U.S. energy needs within a decade – compared with virtually nothing now – as the country’s energy needs are increasingly taken care of by sources of alternative energy, former Texas oilman-turned-wind-power-entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens told Congress last week.

A “Lost Decade” doesn’t have to translate into lost profit opportunities.As the global financial crisis continues to escalate, the United States is increasingly facing the prospect of a long malaise that could easily eclipse Japan’s Lost Decade of the 1990s in both duration and depth.

He made his fortune as an oilman, but yesterday (Tuesday) legendary investor T. Boone Pickens unveiled a plan to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil through the power of alternatives such as wind and natural gas.

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When I coined the term “global synchronic growth” a few years back, I must have had ABB Ltd. (ADR: ABB) in mind. Global synchronic growth is the simultaneous expansion of most of the major economic zones around the world, which spurs investment and creates vast amounts of wealth.

Investors have been watching Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) Chairman Warren Buffett’s moves for years to see which investments are going to take off next.

T. Boone Pickens made his fortune in oil. But now the Dallas oilman and famed former corporate raider is betting $2 billion that he can have the same success with a new source of energy – wind.

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