Steve Ivester on Energy

I am an engineer and scientist by education and experience.  I graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and I have been a member of the Society of Sigma Xi (which is focused on scientific research) since college.  God did not create a universe where energy is in short supply.  Twenty years ago our nation had an aggressive energy research policy, and we were close to unlocking the natural secrets that will give practical access to the power that lights the stars.  The process is called nuclear fusion, and it is very different from the nuclear fission process used in present power reactors.  Today, countries like France and Japan are far ahead of us in that quest for controlled fusion.  The solution of the technical problems of fusion would reduce coal and oil to secondary commodities.  As it stands, coal is the largest factor in the degradation of our environment, and our national policy is being controlled and distorted by our need for oil.

This is a tough technical challenge, but we need to re-engage it as a nation.  In the meantime, we need to aggressively and consistently pursue all alternate energy sources and protect our environment as we do so.

• I will fight for energy efficiency and new energy sources.  Currently this effort waxes and wanes with the cost of oil.  We must have sustained efforts to change the economics of our energy usage.  I am an engineer and can UNDERSTAND and FIGHT this Battle effectively.

Learn more about issues that concern me: