The quantum fusion hypothesis

[GliderGuider]

7. Let me warn you off the top that my position on this issue is controversial.

The crisis that humanity finds itself in right now has many, many components. Climate change, peak oil, pervasive chemical pollution, the depletion of ground water and soil fertility, shifting rainfall patterns, species extinctions due to human activity (overhunting, overfishing and habitat destruction), economic and financial instability, etc.

Only two of these issues would be directly addressed by fusion power: CO2 production and oil depletion. The rest of the problems we face exist irrespective of the source or nature of the energy we use. That's because those problems are caused by human activity, which is driven by exosomatic energy. The production of huge amounts of energy, even if it is CO2-free, enables commensurately huge levels of human activity. This activity is a direct threat to non-human life that is already being pressured severely by our existing activity levels. As more and more species are driven into extinction as a result of our actions, it's only a matter of tiume until we eliminate a keystone species - one that is fundamentally important to either us or the biosphere in general. At that point it's game over.

As a result I'm in favour of dealing with our problems by cutting back human activity levels while moving towards less impactful forms of energy like wind power. The concern I have is that fusion power like this will produce too much energy too cheaply, and in using it we may drive the planet past the point where it can sustain some or all life.