Hot fusion has taken billions from the pockets of taxpayers in several countries. It has provided excellent incomes for numerous scientists. Yes, it reflects theory in refereed papers - published in peer reviewed journals. However, it has not produced products, nor is it likely to for many more years. Some years ago, our local utility, PG&E, published a paper that stated if hot fusion was ever successful, they would not be interested in using it for power production. The neutrons produced would ruin costly equipment. After building half of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant backwards, they finally concluded they should not and would not build power plants in the future.

Aneutronic fusion was proposed by Bogdan Maglich back a few decades. He experienced ridicule and ultimately his firm failed. Boron was the proposed fuel and an outgrowth of his system has once again been proposed and it too is having a difficult time finding funding.

Cold fusion has been ridiculed since it surfaced, in spite of some excellent science – see the recent experiments by Arata in Japan on the LENR-CENR website. The original Utah work was reproduced within six months by the Hutchins group of material scientists at Stanford. They exceeded breakeven and published in Fusion Technology, a refereed Journal. All to no avail. The work was also reproduced at SRI International and several other labs worldwide.

Methane hydrate threatens human survival. Rapid melting of the permafrost indicates to at least one individual who has followed the threat, that a die off of mammels might begin in the Arctic as early as 2025. John Atcheson wrote a brilliant OpEd piece in the Baltimore Sun in December of 2004 warning that survival of life on earth was doubtful, if projected global warming is not abated far more rapidly than is generally understood.

The systems MPI is developing reflect new science and to some extent new technology. In spite of absurdly modest funding, we are moving toward marketing cost-competitive, renewable, safe, and abundant sources of energy - never before utilized to produce electricity. Since there are no engineering handbooks, or directly related peer reviewed papers, every step reflects long hard lab work and field testing. Nobody has been paid more than a fraction of their salaries for years. Yet, regardless, they keep on truckin'.

Fortunately, in spite of long delays, some of the work is at last approaching independent tests and substantial production. We are hardly surprised that critics believe the caterpillar will never emerge. Life is full of unexpected events…some of them pleasant.

The time is ripe for the coming energy revolution. It will open a path to sound economic growth that will benefit everyone - even those who cannot imagine it will actually materialize.