The Pickens Plan would not be easy to implement, but it's a terrific example of the creative thinking that we need in order to fix our country's energy predicament. That's more than can be said for the tired ideas coming out of Congress.

The latest bromide to hit the airwaves is "drill here, drill now, pay less." The peddlers hope to convince Americans that a return to the glory days of cheap and easy oil is just around the corner.

Don't be fooled. As Pickens the oilman will tell any sloganeering congressman who cares to listen, cheap and easy oil is a thing of the past. Demand is up and low-cost pockets of black gold are increasingly hard to come by.

It's time to try something new. The Pickens Plan's centerpiece is to substitute wind for natural gas for meeting some 20 percent of the nation's electric power needs. In a recent report, the Department of Energy said that boosting wind's share of power generation to 20 percent is doable.

The freed-up gas would then be available to fuel automobiles, cutting oil imports by more than one-third.

Pickens says his primary motive is to reduce the drain of American dollars to oil exporting regimes, which he calls "the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind."

The Pickens Plan would benefit his sizable wind and natural gas investments. But no one should begrudge Pickens the wealth that would be his if the plan works.

Will it? That depends on many things falling into place. First, wind energy plants must beat the price of gas-fired generators. Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the country, but investment will plunge if Congress fails to renew production tax credits due to expire at the end of the year.

The wind blows hard and steadily on the western Great Plains. But few people live there. Transmission lines would have to be built to ferry the juice to big loads on the coasts. Utilities would have to figure out the technicalities of integrating wind energy into their grids.

A fueling infrastructure for natural gas-fueled cars would have to be built up. Automakers would have to manufacture the cars and consumers would have to be willing to buy them.

Pickens estimates that building the wind turbines and transmission lines would cost $1.2 trillion. It's a big number, but we spend that much on foreign oil every 20 months.

As Pickens points out, his plan is not a complete or permanent solution for oil dependence. But if it works, it would serve as a bridge to a more robust transportation system, with cars running partially or entirely on electricity. The juice may come from on-board fuel cells, or, perhaps more likely, from quick-charging batteries supplied by wind, other renewables, nukes, or coal plants equipped to capture and bury carbon dioxide.

The Pickens Plan is worth a serious look. It's not a panacea, but there is none to be found. The sooner we face that, the faster we can build an energy economy that cuts our dependence on dangerous regimes, keeps dollars at home, and helps us be better environmental stewards.