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Has Government spending on energy research been a waste? / Michael Levi. Energy, security and climate, 14/11/2011http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2011/11/14/has-government-spending-on-energy-research-been-a-wasteSteve Mufson had a piece in the Washington Post Outlook section this past weekend suggesting that the $172 billion that the U.S. government has spent on early stage energy research since 1961 has largely been a waste. (I say “suggesting” rather than “arguing” because Steve doesn’t quite make the point explicitly; that said, it’s hard to read his essay without being nudged toward that conclusion.) There’s a lot of smart stuff in the piece, but in the end, it’s unconvincing...