Nexus - 0220 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page 47 of 77

Page 47 of 77
Nexus - 0220 - New Times Magazine-pages

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JUNE -JULY 1994 , In 1987 Dennis Lee discovered he could make free electricity-a rather astounding discovery for the son of two migrant farm workers. The possibilities this giscovery presented both elated him and frightened him. He was elated .that there was a simple solution to the pollution and energy problems that were destroying the balance of nature on our planet, and shaken at the size of the discovery he had made. Free, indep'en­ dently produced energy meant people no longer had! to be hooked up to the central power lines. It meant no more offshore drilling for oil, or oil spills that were killing the oceans. It meant no more dependence on foreign oil. It meant water could be pumped into desert lands dying of drought, and crops could be grown to eliminate famine. It meant no more electric line leakage that causes a general depletion in health as well as cancers; no more greenhouse effect, air pollution, toxic waste or water pollution. It meant the health of the pla.net and its people could be restored. It meant a boom for the economy and new jobs for millions of unemployed workers. Since everything runs on energy, the implications to Ithe economies of the developing as well as indlustrialised nations, of clean and simple, 'no­ cost-to-produce' energy was overwhelming. The responsibility of such a discovery was frightening. But, what was even more frightening was the response dIat Dennis Lee would encounter when he attempted to loring the technology that could accomplish alii this to the people. His story began in 1985 when Dennis Lee introduced his Super Heat Pump in his native state of Washington on a risk-free 'system-for-savIDgs' program. The heat pump was so efficient it could save 70-80% of heat and hot water costs, and when his marketing pro­ gram proved to be highly successful, the central utility was not pleased with the competi­ tion. They encouraged the Attorney General's Office to bring a suit against Lee's compa­ ny. The baseless lawsuit was an attempt to discredit him and the technology. Subsequently, his factory was broken into virtually every night, the media splashed bad publicity across the papers regularly, his fmancial backers were encouraged to pullout, and the Attorney General's Office encouraged his customers ro back out of the deal. Papers stolen from his factory turned up in the possession of the Deputy Oistricl Attorney. Although it was in no one's interest (except perhaps the utilities) to put his company out of business, the Attorney General's Office attempted to do just that. Dennis Lee's customers signed petitions asking the Attorney General's Office to stop 'protecting' them and dismiss the suit, or at the very least allow him to be able to perform on their contracts. Despite the ridiculous civil suit that required his company ilO do what it was already doing, and the overwhelming obstatles placed in .his way, Lee's company Ovcrcam.e. When it was obvious that the company could not be destroyed using these tac­ tics, other methods followed. A !hired plant solicited enough unrest to get an involuntary bankruptcy filed, although the compwy was in good financial shape at the time. When Lee proved he could still turn things around, the harassers arrl!Tlged a hostile takeover of the company, Lee, who once believed that fascist tactics belonged to other governments, discovered his first hard lesson in the 'just-us' system: that here in America, law enforce­ ment agencies are often used to protect powerful money interests and not the interests of the citizens. He quietly left to pick up the pieces elsewhere. He moved to .Boston to continue his efforts with a company associate. It was here, less than one year after the utilities first destroyed his effort..s, ,that he discovered he could m.ake 'free electricity' using the techIlOlogy of the Super Heat Pump. How ironic, after they had forcedl him out of business, that he would discover a technology that could put them out of business. He rSubstantiated the discovery with three scientists of tremendous experience. One was a professor at MIT, one was an ex-Department of Defense scientist NEXUS • 47