Dennis Lee & Better World Technologies and United Community Services of America

Dennis Lee has broken a lot of laws, but he hasn't broken the laws of thermodynamics. --Robert Park

...when I hear a guy talking about God and money in the same breath I get the feeling that it's Money that's doing the talking. --Eric Krieg

The swell-sounding Better World Technologies and United Community Services of America is a for-profit business run by Dennis Lee. He's sold many products over the years, but he's best known for seeking investors for infinite energy devices, gizmos that will provide us with free electricity. Unfortunately, the devices he promotes violate known laws of physics. It should not be surprising that he's never actually demonstrated one.

His product is never quite ready, but you can still buy a franchise for somewhere between $30,000 and $100,000 and begin selling free energy and other unique devices.

Lee has been making claims about his ability to deliver free energy for the past quarter of a century, yet nobody has ever seen an actual demonstration of a working free energy device. Others with a good understanding of engineering (Krieg) and physics (Park) have published comments on why they don't trust Lee's claims. He doesn't seem to know the difference between an amp and a volt. He uses the tactics of the demagogue rather than the scientist. His demonstrations are deceptive and dishonest. He preaches and condemns rather than argue and demonstrate in full view of knowledgeable scientists. His followers seem more like a cult than a group of technologically savvy investors. He's never published a paper in a scientific journal. He can't get a patent. He been indicted for fraud (New Jersey,1975, and the state of Washington, 1985). He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of consumer fraud in California in 1990 in connection with the sale of an "energy-saving heat pump kit."*

Lee's followers must have a lot of faith. In fact, Lee travels from city to city and holds "demonstrations" that have been described in terms that make them sound like revival meetings. There are ample references to God who, he seems to think, has picked him to make the world a better place. He divides the world into his band of do-gooders and his enemies. The latter include critics, scientists, journalists, the government, and others who demand to see an actual demonstration of one of his perpetual energy machines.

Lee seems to hold his following more by appealing to their distrust of scientists and the government than by providing solid evidence for his claims. Robert Park notes that Lee's defenders are skeptical to a fault. They're so skeptical and mistrustful of science and the government that they have become vulnerable and gullible to hucksters and con men claiming to be doing God's work. It is very difficult for even the best of critical thinkers to stifle wishful thinking and self-deception when an appeal is made to greed. It is nearly impossible when the appeal to an overly skeptical religious person is joined with the promise that one is smiting some god's enemies and making the world a better place by providing free energy.

Others, such as Joe Newman have also been promising free energy for many years, using the same tactics and having the same kind of success as Mr. Lee, i.e., success at building up a following without producing the goods. In fact, Lee seems to have taken Newman as his model citizen.

See also free energy machine, Hutchison hoax, and perpetual motion machine.

further reading

Examining the Amazing Free-Energy Claims of Dennis Lee by Eric Krieg

Eric's History of Perpetual Motion and Free Energy Machines 

New Mexicans for Reason and Science on Dennis Lee

More Free Energy and Hot Air  by Milton Rothman

Free energy by John Blanton

Joseph Newman's Energy Claims

Park, Robert L. Voodoo Science: the Road from Foolishness to Fraud (Oxford University Press, 2000).