Back in this universe, there is no way that a 30 year old physicist is going to get something usable from the Cold Fusion effect. Firstly, because the youngest guy in the field that I know of is 48 - all the potential young people have got scared off by the severe career damage that results - and secondly because all the research that can be done on a shoestring has already been done. Cold fusion is a quantum nanotechnology / surface physics phenomenon, and only a really well-funded lab or corporation could do meaningful work in this area. Thirdly, the CF / LENR community represents a much smaller fraction of the science community (i.e. no more than about 40 active research groups worldwide) than does Peak Oil in its corner.

TOD-ers, you have no idea what it is to struggle against a really dominant cultural paradigm, believe me.