Selling Fusion In Washington DC
This past weekend I traveled to Washington DC to talk with fusion folks. The place always feels like Vegas to me. It seems like 98% of the jobs in Washington involve constantly speculating on what action our government will take next. Predictions abound. To get something done, it takes alignment from a couple hundred decision-makers spread across the federal bureaucracy. Selling a fusion program into this hot mess has got to be challenging. Except for the few people involved; it is hard for most to appreciate. On that scale, supporters must have a simple message. A message, that answers something that policy-makers already want to hear. Sometimes, fusion is presented as the solution to climate change - and we just need to get ignition to make it work. Sometimes, fusion is sold as a path to energy independence; or military might. I heard a real example of a committee reversing direction, in the middle of a review. First, they were asked: what they could do with more - and then hal