[Wuli]

"If this was world war time we would be spending many billions of dollars researching it. We really should invest in it now without needing to be forced by war."

If it is actually economically viable, it should not require government funded R&D.

[Reeses]

Computers, nuclear energy, jet engines, supersonic aircraft, robotics, radar, microwaves were all invented for WWII because of massive technology investment during a life or death situation. Do you think the $10 billion in 1940s dollars the US spent in a few years splitting the atom would have happened without the war? We're still riding the technology wave from all that investment.

If you look back on history you will find that war is the mother of invention. Most technology breakthroughs occur for war. The reason America is so wealthy is because we spend so much on military technology which then transfers into commercial products. The internet we're communicating on is an American cold war invention.

Some things benefit us all. British Petroleum recently committed $500 million to research biofuels however if that investment triggers a breakthrough they will own the patents and the profit potential is large. I think if the US spent $10 billion on algae research it would greatly benefit America's future prosperity, and reduce some of our need to deal with troublemakers around the world.