Originally posted by Carl
er, that discovery would:
Save the U.S. billions of dollars in oil imports
Solve the energy crisis
Make it so we no longer have to deal with OPEC
Reduce air pollution
Cut down on oil spills (less of it will be on the ocean)
Money spent on fusion research could be used elsewhere
Change the political climate to a more friendly view of the U.S. government (i.e. people won't think we are in Iraq for the oil, since we won't need nearly so much of it anymore.)
So why would the U.S. Government want to bury it?
Well, firstly; US government has never been too bothered about the environment, so that wouldn;t be a factor. Neither would fusion reasearch money be a problem - just cancel it or slush it away. Politically, it would only be a friendly view if the US was to give away the complete plans for fusion and allow free use; otherwise it would just lead to further resentment in, for example, third world countries.
The oil thing...is interesting. I'm not sure what the US 'hold' over oil is (with the occupation of Iraq as well as its own reserves, as well as those of allies like Saudi Arabia) - but, if the US managed to preserve it's own oil reserves until the rest of the world ran (more or less) dry, it'd put it in an incredibly powerful position.
Of courses, there's the secondary thing - how many US elected officials have received campaign funding or finances from oil companies?
