by John Atchison

Created on: July 29, 2011

There is no argument that the price of oil keeps skyrocketing as time goes along, promptly countries from around the globe to try and find low cost alternatives.  Couple that with the fact that energy derived from oil is not very environmentally friendly and it leaves everyone on the planet searching every inch of the earth for something better.  According to at least one professor in Wisconsin, that might be the problem.  He believes that the moon holds the key to providing unlimited clean energy for the earth to solve its energy and environmental issues.

Movie goers will remember the story of Dr. Otto Octavius, who before he transforms into the freakish Doc Ock in Spiderman 2, was in the process of trying to create fusion and harness it as the world's next abundant energy source.  We recall his failure on his first attempt and his ongoing need for the precious element Tritium to continue his experiments.  Well according to a CNN article on the topic, Gerald Kulcinski is a sort of kindred spirit of the big screen doctor and is looking to create a fusion reactor to help the world with its energy woes.

As was the case with Doc Ock, Kulcinski though is running into issues with his experiments into the process.  His problem is also a shortage of a precious element that he needs to continue his work.  That element is helium-3 (3He) and according to the CNN piece, there is only about 30 kilograms of this stuff left on the earth.  The good professor also has a bigger problem and that is the fact that governments around the world want this same element for their own uses.  It is key to things like nuclear sensors that detect people trying to bring something bad across a border.

When an element has a function like that, it is going to be hard to come by, especially for a group that uses it for research.  This is where the moon comes into play.  Evidently, the planet up above us has this rare element in abundant supply.  To the tune of trillions of dollars worth if current estimates are correct.  For researchers like Kulcinski, this could be extraordinary news and it would normally excite those hoping for a breakthrough from this important research.

For those that think it is not important research, think again.  His research into fusion is vastly different than what others in the field have done.  If Kulcinski's theory comes to fruition, he would not only be creating fusion energy, but would be able to do it without having radioactive waste as a byproduct of the process.  It is truly a revolutionary breakthrough if it can be done.  This once again brings us back to the moon.

With the moon having an abundance of this precious element within its structure, it would seem like a no-brainer to fire up a rocket with a couple of engineers on it and go up there and start bringing stuff back.  Ah, but now examine the current state of the US Space program and NASA.  They just stopped the space shuttle program and there have been drastic cutbacks in budgets at the agency as well.  So what once looked like an easy thing to do now seem like a very far off goal to accomplish?

Will possible breakthroughs like this cause the President to reinvigorate the space program?  At this point no one really knows, but it leaves one to wonder what the moon will look like if the world can get up there and start mining away for this element.  Will that crescent moon look that we see on occasion become a permanent fixture?

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