Additionally, considering Dr. Alford sells his services, while he may also have a lot to lose if he's wrong, he also has a lot to gain if he's right. I'd rather see disinterested third parties, like academics, seriously evaluate this.

I remember one did - Dr. Jimmy Oxley, at URI, did and she concluded that it wasn't feasible.

The problem is, governments and contractors that have dogs in the fight don't want to have this discussion. The fact that Dr. Alford is the only one that's ever trotted out in these instances is suspect to me.