Nice. Natural gas: We couldn't possibly allow natural gas to be piped into urban areas -- it would be way too dangerous -- people could blow up their neighborhood if there were a leak, or kill themselves by asphixiation or carbon monoxide poisoning..
Electricity: We couldn't possibly allow electricity to be used by consumers -- they could be instantly killed in a few milliseconds on contact with it, and short circuits could ignite entire neighborhoods, plus it probably causes cancer. Gasoline: The energy contained in a tank of gasoline is so great that in the event of an accident, whole neighborhoods could be decimated, therefore its handling must be left to professionals. Unfenced roads and subway trains: All roads and train tracks must be fenced off as people could inadvertantly step or fall into the rights of way and be squashed. ... -----Original Message----- From: Jed Rothwell [mailto:jedrothw...@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 1:18 PM To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Subject: [Vo]:Most objections to cold fusion will not survive commercialization Gene Mallove and I used to say that if we [Hoyt A. Stearns Jr.] ... Fear of the unknown. Cold fusion may be dangerous. It is untested. All forms of nuclear energy are inherently dangerous. (The fact that other sources of energy are also dangerous is not considered, because people tend to discount the dangers of existing technology and exaggerate the dangers of new technology.) Fear of economic change and technological progress. People will lose jobs. The stock market may fall. Our economy cannot survive such large changes. "Senator, we may not be able to pick up the tab for your reelection campaign." Fear of cold fusion's capabilities. It might be used for a bomb. It is too powerful to be used responsibly; i.e., "giving humanity cold fusion is like giving a machine gun to a baby." (Rifkin) Fear of other countries. If the Chinese get this they will rule us. (I've heard this proposed as a reason to prevent R&D, as if we can stop the Chinese by not developing it ourselves.) A strange modern fear of using machines that experts do not fully understand. "There is no theory to explain how it works, so it might stop working or explode." (Actually, the experts do not fully understand how anything works, but they don't admit that to the public.) Fear that cold fusion may make things worse. I share this fear. See chapter 19 of my book. The fact that something might be misused is seldom a good reason not to use it at all. Usually, advantages outweigh disadvantages. (Some new weapon systems, and some unstable, dangerous and unreliable machines cause more harm than good.) Fear of authority, and science. This is fashionable these days, with campaigns against vaccinations and global warming. A few other objections can be anticipated: It will cost too much. We cannot afford to replace all automobiles and heaters. It will take too long. It will be too little, too late. By the time we implement it global warming will be upon us. (This is Bjorn Lomborg's one-size-fits all argument against all solutions to all technical problems. He always ends up recommending we sit and do nothing.) [Hoyt A. Stearns Jr.] ... than good from a PR point of view. - Jed
