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The Final Drought -- 
Cold Fusion and the Destruction of Life on the Earth
Michael J. Vandeman
August 9, 2008

	I don't understand how humans can be so intelligent, and at
the same time, so stupid! A Berkeley electrical engineer, Robert
Godes, claims to have a way of doing cold fusion (turning hydrogen
into helium, while releasing energy), in his kitchen. If true, and I
have no reason to doubt him, this could revolutionize the world's
energy situation. He says he has hired a high-powered Palo Alto patent
firm and is starting up a company to profit from his idea. I wonder if
he told his partners the truth about this process? . . .

	There are a few obvious problems with it. Can you think of
even one profit-making company that has provided a net benefit to the
world? I can't! For example, Ben and Jerry's does some good things,
but basically, they make junk food -- food that no one should eat!
Chevron is destroying wildlife and human habitat in the Amazon and
elsewhere. In short, greed begets grief!

	Can you imagine Einstein taking this route (patenting his
nuclear information and creating a private company to implement it)? I
think that he wanted it to be used for good. He had a lot of humanity.
Or take Gandhi. He taught everyone how to make their own salt, rather
than creating a company to profit from his ideas. If Godes's idea is
this valuable, it should be implemented in the form of a
not-for-profit corporation, with a lot of input from scientists,
government (including the United Nations), and the community.

	Can you wear more than one pair of pants at a time? What for?
Can you eat more than one meal at a time? What for? We all have
approximately the same requirements, and excess is counterproductive.
Wildlife don't have that problem. An animal that killed more prey than
it needed would be weeded out by evolution, because it would require
more energy to accomplish the same thing: greed begets grief.

	What is more important than the continuation of life on the
Earth? Nothing. And it is in peril! A quarter of all species of
animals are headed for extinction, and similar percentages for other
species. Everything we value depends on the existence and welfare of
other species (see paper below). If we don't contribute to solving
that problem, what is the point? A profit-making corporation cannot do
that. We already know that such corporations take the path of least
resistance toward the maximum quick returns. That's what stockholders
ensure.

	I think that we should make sure that our work benefits
wildlife first and foremost, and then people. (Humans are 100 percent
dependent on the existence and welfare of other species!) I think that
that can only be done via a not-for-profit corporation or organization
(e.g. a university, although they aren't focused enough on ethics). We
also need to ensure that we immediately stop burning fossil fuels, not
simply add a new source of energy. And we need to stop corporations
from destroying wildlife habitat. That will require the cooperation of
governments, including the United Nations. A for-profit corporation
can't or won't do that. This project is moving too fast, and in
exactly the wrong direction! This is not Godes's area of expertise, so
I suggested that he get some better advisors, including experts on
wildlife conservation (e.g. Nature Conservancy), sustainability (e.g.
Amory Lovins), and environmental protection (e.g. NRDC), and include
some politicians who know how to accomplish such things.

	But there are actually at least two even bigger problems.
First, this process consumes water - not in the sense that an ordinary
power plant consumes water, by heating it and causing it to evaporate
into the atmosphere, but by permanently destroying it! It takes a
molecule of pure (drinking) water, combines the two hydrogen atoms to
form helium, and releases the oxygen and helium to the atmosphere. The
water molecule is gone forever! 

	Water is the basis for all life. Without water, life could not
exist on the Earth. In California, all water is already spoken for, by
wildlife, agriculture, and people. There is no water to spare! Godes
knows that, because his community is already rationing water. The same
goes for every other region of the world. There is no water that isn't
already serving its highest purpose: supporting life. We have already
reached the point where any more water we take deprives endangered
species such as the coho salmon. In the past, industry only polluted
the water. It was still possible to recover the water, although with
considerable effort. Fusion is different.

	But that is not all! Adding oxygen to the atmosphere may seem
like a good thing, but I am told that if the concentration of oxygen
reaches a certain level, all of the world's forests will spontaneously
combust! Fusion, like atomic warfare, needs to be banned, not
promoted!

	Godes's company will be just exactly like all other for profit
corporations: extracting money from natural resources, while doing
permanent harm! I suggest that we take a long, hard look down that
road, before taking it -- admittedly not something that humans are
good at doing. . . .
-- 
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8 
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande