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US Government Wants To Start Charging For Landsat, the Best Free Satellite Data On Earth (qz.com)
The U.S. government may begin charging users for access to five decades of satellite images of Earth. Quartz reports: Nature reports that the Department of Interior has asked an advisory board to consider the consequences of charging for the data generated by the Landsat program, which is the largest continuously collected set of Earth images taken in space and has been freely available to the public since 2008. Since 1972, Landsat has used eight different satellites to gather images of the Earth, with a ninth currently slated for a December 2020 launch. The data are widely used by government agencies, and since it became free, by an increasing number of academics, private companies and journalists. "As of March 31, 2018, more than 75 million Landsat scenes have been downloaded from the USGS-managed archive!" the agency noted on the 10th anniversary of the program.
Now, the government says the cost of sharing the data has grown as more people access it. Advocates for open data say the public benefit produced through research and business activity far outweigh those costs. A 2013 survey cited by Nature found that the dataset generated $2 billion in economic activity, compared to an $80 million budget for the program.
Now, the government says the cost of sharing the data has grown as more people access it. Advocates for open data say the public benefit produced through research and business activity far outweigh those costs. A 2013 survey cited by Nature found that the dataset generated $2 billion in economic activity, compared to an $80 million budget for the program.
Why is it America's job to do everything for the world? It's just expected everything will be free of charge. GPS, military protection, US Navy keeping the sea routes open for wealthy nations like Germany to make a mint on exports, American citizens dying from hyper expensive medical costs while the world benefits from cures we develop, the list goes on. It's bankrupting us to carry all these free riders along. It's literally killing our people. Why is it America's job to do everything for the world? It's just expected everything will be free of charge. GPS, military protection, US Navy keeping the sea routes open for wealthy nations like Germany to make a mint on exports, American citizens dying from hyper expensive medical costs while the world benefits from cures we develop, the list goes on. It's bankrupting us to carry all these free riders along. It's literally killing our people. The world's voice has been loud and strong telling the Americans to back off and stop bullying. It's about time everyone learned to ride the bike without training wheels and pay for themselves. The transition period will be painful but ultimately beneficial for everyone. Short term pain long term gain.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Why is it America's job to do everything for the world? It's just expected everything will be free of charge. GPS, military protection, US Navy keeping the sea routes open for wealthy nations like Germany to make a mint on exports, American citizens dying from hyper expensive medical costs while the world benefits from cures we develop, the list goes on. It's bankrupting us to carry all these free riders along. It's literally killing our people. The world's voice has been loud and strong telling the Americans to back off and stop bullying. It's about time everyone learned to ride the bike without training wheels and pay for themselves. The transition period will be painful but ultimately beneficial for everyone. Short term pain long term gain.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
So what's your solution to solve the free rider problem? The test of the world isn't paying it's fair share and is laughing all the way to the bank. America is literally going bankrupt doing all this stupid shit for free. This simply cannot continue. The whole world considers us deplorable and it's time to back off. Let them share in the costs equally, it's the only solution that's fair for everyone.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
The American people do not benefit from funding a free navy for the world. In fact, it has greatly harmed us. We're being put out of good jobs because people on the other side of the planet will work for $3 a day. The world free rides on American drug research while American people die because they can't afford to subsidize the prices.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!