Morning Break, 6/15- Huizenga Part IV

Since my schedule is a bit different, there has to be a new category of short posts designated to handle all posts of this type. They'll be labeled "Breaktime to make time", and this new label for this new category will be at the bottom of this post for easy reference for now on. This post will also be labeled as a sidebar entry in order to note the new category of posts that can be traced in a similar fashion.  That is the practice that I have set up so as to keep track of these new categories as they are created.  With that bit of housekeeping done, let's move on to what I wanted to write about.

I continue to read Huizenga's book about "cold fusion". I have gotten to the point where the DOE panel was set up to investigate the claims being made. The Energy Secretary at that time, Admiral Watkins, charged the panel with the following:

1. To review the experiments and theory regarding the work done on "cold fusion".
2. To identify what research should be undertaken to determine, if possible, what processes could be involved.
3. To identify what R&D direction the DOE should take which could lead to a practical application.

The above sentences are not direct quotes from the book. I shortened them to make them easier to type as I am in a bit of a hurry. These are put up here as a point of reference to what recommendations the panel eventually made. When I get to that point, I'll take a look at this again.

In my opinion, the DOE report set the tone for everything that was to follow for the next 20 years. It appears to be reasonable steps to take in response to the events that occurred at that time. However, given the stakes, could not more have been done? Why leave it all up to the scientific community? Given the great significance of this as an energy source, isn't it reasonable to ask more than just the scientific questions? Why not ask a wider variety of experts from different fields to evaluate it from their own respective points of view. Not to confuse this with the science of it, but also the business potential, among others.

This is not to criticize this with 20/20 hindsight. I am just wondering if the way events unfolded was the best that could have been done?