The memory hole goodie bag - Pons and Fleischman 18 years later

Exactly eighteen years ago this week the debate began to escalate over the claims of Drs. Pons and Fleischman of achieving cold fusion at room temperature in their Utah laboratory. Imagine for a moment that this claim were to be made today. With steadily rising energy costs, a mainstream acceptance and discussion of global warming and a war being waged in the midst of the worlds main oil suppliers the feedback over such an announcement would be deafening.

The findings of Pons and Fleischman were discredited but they have continued their work non-stop since then. Other alternative energy devices have been developed in obscure workshops worldwide as well as being studied and tested at respected laboratories and research facilities of major Universities and organizations such as NASA and TVA. Even the Griggs Device has found a niche in the pulp wood industry and is in production by Hydro-Dynamics today. Of course the words "over unity" and it's much debated history are not seen in any of their literature or on their web site but this is beside the point and a distraction from what is really important. The point is that an energy efficient, functional and creative device is in production.

We will not wake one sunny morning to news of a breakthrough technology which makes oil, coal and nuclear energy obsolete and worthless. But we are slowly rising with a hangover to a number of technologies which will address our energy and transportation needs. Oil companies are raking in record profits but their added wealth is not trickling down to their own customers. All businesses rely one way or another on the availability of cheap, abundant energy and their bottom line is weakened across the board due to the rising energy costs. They will, one day, implement the devices being developed in the labs because simple economics demand that they be implemented.

There is a long lived and much repeated conspiracy theory which relates to this subject. Since the 1930's there have been urban legends regarding the existence of an engine that runs on water, the classic Water Engine story. The legend promotes the idea that the oil companies took control of this technology and have suppressed it to maintain their control over the energy sector. Variations on this legend also maintain that the oil companies destroyed all records of this technology therefore, it is not just suppressed it is a lost technology and cannot be recreated. David Mamet even wrote a play about this mysterious subject in the 1970's.

In times of heavy handed corporate power reigning over the public, such as what we see today with "Big Oil" and others; feelings of being powerless manifests itself in our consciousness as a society. Even though we haven't seen an uptick in rumors and conspiracy theories regarding a water engine or other groundbreaking alternative energy devices it would not surprise me if we do in the near future. Our urban legends and conspiracy theories are sometimes a comforting way of explaining why things are the way they are.