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UN Plans Asteroid Response Framework

Posted by samzenpus on from the where's-bruce-willis dept.

chrb writes "The Association of Space Explorers, a non-profit group of people who have completed at least one Earth orbit in space, has presented a report to the United Nations titled Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response. The UN will now meet in February to discuss the issue and try to define a global political framework for dealing with asteroid-based threats to the Earth."

8 of 152 comments (clear)

  1. That's another thing they'd screw up... by tjstork · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's all well and good to have a bunch of people talking together, but at the end of the day, the UN is utterly useless, and ultimately, the world's going to come looking for the USA for a way out, and then the Americans will quietly ask the British what they think, the French will chime in with their opinion whether anyone likes it or not, and after that brief bit of backchannel talking, the USA will wind up doing something that Europe hailed in private and condemned in public, except for the British, and their people will bitch about the Americans do it, not because its wrong, but they will insist that the British would have done it better had they still had their empire.

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    1. Re:That's another thing they'd screw up... by bensafrickingenius · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And no doubt the UN will soon impanel a subcommittee which will spend millions of US dollars to generate a report condemning the US for causing this Asteroid crisis...

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      I am not left-handed, either!
  2. How will this be funded? by HockeyPuck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Should funding be broken down by %population of the world, or %landmass occupied? However, I see this as "make the US pay for it". If a non-planet killing asteroid is targeting a nation which has not contributed to the fund/program, should we defend it? The security system on my house doesn't protect my neighbor's, (although my tax dollars which pay for the police, do.).

    1. Re:How will this be funded? by east+coast · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This theoretical asteroid would know no man-made boundaries. It's unlikely that the overall effect that it will produce would be able to be narrowed down to a single nation or even a small group of them. The ripple such an event would cause would touch everyone's life in some fashion.

      Either way, I have zero faith in the UN being able to put together anything bigger or more complex than a boy scout weekend camping trip without massive corruption, waste and/or bad blood being created between member nations.

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      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  3. Asteroid 2.0 by Freaky+Spook · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I hope it has less holes in it than the .NET Framework

    By the time the UN establishes it's framework, the Asteroid will have been upgraded to version 2.0 and then the UN will have to go back and do a whole re-write.

  4. Re:I truly do not by Dripdry · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It is also a natural occurrence that we are here, able to perceive a threat to our species, and eliminate that threat.

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  5. Re:I truly do not by BlackusDiamondus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    believe we should be messing with the natural occurances of the solar system. Asteroid collisions are how we got here, how we will end, and how a new smarter, more capable species will come again. Let it happen naturally. End of story.

    Tell you what, next time you get critically ill or injured, we should just let you die a natural death so that a new smarter and more capable person can take your place. I say let it happen naturally, End of story.

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  6. Offsite backups by symbolset · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For true disaster preparedness the only solution is a backup hot site. Mars would be nice.

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