A Message from Brian O'Leary

For more than thirty years I have studied, taught and advised the U.S. government about clean energy futures. In the process I had begun to understand the depth of our addiction to polluting and unsafe sources such as the fossil fuels and nuclear power. I also grew to appreciate the great potential but also the high cost of switching to conventional renewables such as solar and wind power. This interest had coincided with a nascent robust environmental movement during the 1970s that stoked my vision of a truly clean energy future.

But two unexpected events happened on the way to the vision, one political and the other technical. In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected U.S. president rendering flat the clean energy dream, culminating with the oil-soaked energy policies of the Bush II administration. The second were visits during the 1990s to the laboratories of inventors and scientists researching the potential of vacuum ( zero-point ) energy, to satisfy a curiosity I had had that our answers might just lie outside the box of conventional thinking. I traveled throughout North America, Europe, Japan, India, New Zealand to see some truly remarkable demonstrations which were for me a proof-of-concept of breakthrough technologies that , if properly developed, could change the world. These activities also helped lead to the creation of the Institute for New Energy as a spinoff from two historic thinktank retreats in Estes Park, Colorado, under the auspices of the International Association for New Science, where some of the best and brightest new energy scientists from all around the world were gathered. We exchanged research ideas and sought ways of supporting our mutual work . But when our benefactor did not yet see profits coming from the work, he pulled out. Support was thin at best.

To my skeptical mind steeped in mainstream physics, it took some years for me to uncover the principles that could support a new energy revolution. I nevertheless believed these options were promising for relieving the emerging crises of air pollution and global warming/climate change. We should give them a shot. But I also was aware of the dynamics of scientific discovery: that bold new ideas were usually in for a societally-sanctioned paradigm gridlock preventing developments that could be perceived as threatening to the status quo. Around that time, the late Dr. Eugene Mallove at MIT was concluding much the same about cold fusion. A movement seemed to be forming, one largely outside the Scientific Establishment, to research unconventional energy sources.

Alas for a decade we seemed to be thwarted at every turn. University scientists, governent techocrats, investors, media, politicians and even environmentalists spoke with one voice in ignorance about or opposition to the credibility of new energy. Several breakaway scientists and intelligent lay people did embrace some of the revolutionary ideas of Nikola Tesla, placed historically safely one century ago. But the hundreds of Teslas now alive and diligently searching for the ultimate solution to the global energy crisis were being suppressed rather than supported. Why was that happening? And why were we as a culture so slow to innovate ourselves beyond the dirty and dangerous situation we now find ourselves in? What could we do about it? We needed a context for change.

To address this curious situation Alden Bryant and I formed the New Energy Movement in 2003. I started a simple literary website writing and inviting essays on the dynamics of suppression and opportunity in the new energy field. I also began to formulate some of the basic principles of new energy that could be understandable to the layperson, including frequently asked questions,mission statements, looking at the main issues, etc. This naturally led to the conclusion that if the powers-that-be were in fact leading us astray, then we the people would need to do the job the U.S. Department of Energy and profit-driven corporations should be doing but arenÕt, to honestly look at the full range of options without vested interests, and to support the research and development required to implement a truly clean, cheap, safe and decentralized energy future for the Earth.

Thanks to the efforts of NEM board members Wade Frazier and Andrew Mount, and with the webmastering of Yvonne Garcia, then Steve Meyers and now Stas Rutkowski, the website has lurched into the 21sst Century. My initial goal in establishing the site has been to post several topical essays on the social dynamics of new energy. Because many of our board members are well-versed in these matters, some of us hoped that frequently posted articles would attract dialogue, debate and discussion about the role of new energy in transforming our global energy culture and that the word could spread. I am happy to report the hard work of making this site available for such discussions is done. The site can now be a vibrant forum for understanding where civilization could go with this, with the highest level public participation that we could expect from a democratic effort to formulate future energy policies that make sense.

The New Energy Movement held its first conference in September 2004 in Portland, Oregon, ÒNew Energy: The Courage to Change.Ó. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of board members Joel Garbon and Steve Kaplan and a team of volunteers, the consensus among the 300 attendees was that it was a huge success. We will have more conferences. So between the new website and conferences, we are truly launched.

But our work has barely begun and we will need outside support to deepen our understanding of new energy issues. What kinds of energy sources do we really want? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each one in terms of feasibility, cost, safety, and full life-cycle environmental costs? Perhaps most importantly, how can we make new energy more credible in the face of overwhelming institutional inertia? I am convinced some day there will be breakthroughs in the form of prototype devices but that will come not only through the dogged work of one or two isolated inventors. It will come only through tiger teams of inventors, engineers, angel benefactors and others who could bring the technologies forward. All this takes the support of the people: ÒIf the people lead, the leaders will follow.Ó To the degree we can grow and become a viable force in the energy field may just make the difference for us and for future generations. So we invite you to jump in and be part of our team, to participate in this grassroots high-leverage creative activity to help heal Mother Earth.

Brian O'Leary, Ph.D.
July 2005