Beyond Energy: Using Fusion to Understand the Universe The Long Now Foundation - Cowell Theatre Finally achieving fusion energy may be closer than everyone thinks. For decades the dream has been to employ the reaction that powers stars to generate high-volume electricity without the drawbacks of fission reactors — no high-level waste, no weapons application, no risk of meltdown, no use of uranium, and (as with fission) no greenhouse gases.Ed Moses is director of the National Ignition Facility (