Now, if fusion really occurred, wouldn't there be an enormous crater, and maybe a smoking radius of obsidian, as evidence?
Or is this the 'user friendly' kind of fusion?
They are talking about a much more diluted brand of fusion than you are talking about. Instead of millions or billions of atoms changing from hydrogen to helium in a massive explosion, only a few do at a time, and the result is that not nearly as much energy is released at one time as there is, for example, in a hydrogen bomb.
It's a nice idea, if it works, but getting there is a serious problem. And it doesn't become "science" unless someone can replicate the results.