MSNBC

T. Boone Pickens was headed to a private lunch with outgoing Energy Secretary Steven Chu when I caught up with him by phone this week.

In the four years that Chu’s been in office, he’s never met privately with Pickens, the outspoken former oilman turned investor who’s been a proponent of natural gas vehicles.

For the past few years, Pickens, who lives in Dallas, has been promoting his plan to wean the country off foreign oil. Critics are quick to point out that Pickens’ agenda would promote his investments in natural gas and a company that makes natural gas vehicles. Others call that putting his money where his mouth is.