Why We Must Stop Fusion Before It’s Too Late

I will never forget the day one of my father’s oil wells came in. The scent of crude mixed with the dry Texas air, the roughnecks hollering as the rig belched black gold skyward, a triumphant geyser signaling our family’s fortune. My father, a man of unshakable confidence, stood tall, watching his empire grow. It was a celebration—a moment of American industry in its purest form. My mother brought out a feast. Champagne popped. There were hundreds of balloons, bright and bobbing in the hot sun, a symbol of our joy.

And then, there was Henry. My younger brother, barely four, laughing in delight as my father tied those very balloons to his belt, hoisting him into the air like a gift to the heavens. He had meant it as a joke—at first. But we underestimated the power of helium that day. Henry, light as a feather, drifted upward, his giggles turning to cries, his little arms reaching back toward us. I can still see my mother screaming, my father leaping for him, the balloons carrying him higher, higher—until he was just a speck in the sky.

Henry was the first. But if fusion energy becomes a reality, he won’t be the last.

The Coming Helium Crisis

For years, the price of helium has been carefully controlled by its scarcity. It is a finite resource, extracted from the earth alongside natural gas, harvested by the hardworking men and women of the fossil fuel industry. But nuclear fusion threatens to upend this balance. Unlike conventional energy sources, fusion—hailed as the “holy grail” of power—generates helium as a byproduct. A perpetual, endless supply.

Scientists, drunk on their own arrogance, claim this is a breakthrough. They dream of limitless, clean energy. They do not see the true horror they are unleashing. As the cost of helium plummets, so too will the cost of helium balloons. And then, inevitably, the laws of supply and demand will take hold: parents, emboldened by the affordability of helium, will tie more and more balloons to their children. What was once an act of whimsy will become a global catastrophe.

We will see an exponential increase in child-related driftings. Playgrounds will become launch sites. Birthday parties will turn into farewell ceremonies. The skies, once belonging to birds and planes, will become crowded with the helpless silhouettes of toddlers floating ever upward, their desperate cries lost in the stratosphere.

Fossil Fuels: Our Last Line of Defense

The fusion lobby, in their insatiable greed for “progress,” ignores these dangers. They claim their reactors will bring about a utopia, a world free from carbon emissions. But at what cost? The answer is clear: untethered children, carried aloft by reckless innovation.

There is only one solution. We must halt all fusion research immediately. We must double down on the fossil fuel industry, the only industry with the foresight and wisdom to ensure helium remains an expensive, carefully rationed commodity. Oil wells have never produced helium in dangerous excess. Coal mines have never caused spontaneous childhood levitation. Fracking has never led to a balloon-based extinction event.

Those who oppose fossil fuels claim they wish to protect our future. But what kind of future are they building? One where children float away like lost balloons, slipping beyond the reach of our outstretched arms?

I will never forget Henry. And I will not stand by and let fusion take more of our children. If we truly care about our next generation, we must embrace the only energy source that has never betrayed us. We must say no to fusion. We must say yes to oil.

Because the last thing we need is cheaper helium.