T. Boone Pickens’ kicked off a “virtual march” on Washington, D.C. today, organizing the collective power of over 4.5 million people to flood Congress with e-mails, calls and faxes in support of clean energy.

The virtual march will wrap up on Friday, but between now and then, march organizers are mobilizing Pickens’ New Energy Army to voice support for the Pickens Plan, including a bill introduced just today into the House of Representatives called the NAT GAS Act.

“I applaud Congressmen Boren, Larson, and Sullivan for introducing the NAT GAS Act today. In doing so, they’re showing that a bi-partisan approach to energy policy is not only possible, but do-able,” said Pickens in a statement. Pickens will be in Washington this week, attending meetings, bill introductions, press conferences and meeting with the news media.

>>See also: T. Boone Pickens Gets Jon Stewart All Fired Up on the Daily Show

Pickens’ Virtual March is not the only virtual political action to take place in recent months. Those who were interested in following the COP14 UN Climate talks in Poznan, Poland in December of 2008 could attend the conference virtually.

The benefits of participating in virtual political action include: reduced energy use (smaller carbon footprint); lower overall cost, and; generally lowering the barriers to entry for those who might not otherwise be able to attend.

Whether a virtual march is as effective as a real march is not the important issue from my perspective. Pickens has once again shown his ability to make a big splash with his Pickens Plan campaign, this time using the unprecedented tactic of a virtual march. Whether you are hip with the Pickens Plan or not, his creativity should be applauded.

Image: Courtesy of Learn Online