exploration of life on earth

[George <E. at <schatz at MOBOT.ORG>.bitnet>]

I don't want us to start kicking NASA while they are down, but is anyone else somewhat bothered to read in a NY Times Op-Ed about how "cheap" a failed $165 million Mars Mission is?   Or the other recent $125 million Mars feet/meters "mistake" ( I'm not aware of any systematists who use inches)?  Those are purportedly "cheap" mistakes in comparison to the $2 billion failed Mars Mission in 1992?  Does anyone have a figure for the amount of money our government allocated to the exploration of life on earth this past year?  Now I know that we could (and should) just as easily go down the "defense budget road", and, of course, the discovery and analysis of an independent origin and evolution of life would be utterly fascinating, but what is going on here? Why don't we collectively "get it" yet?  Life on earth, which is superficially understood at best, is under siege by one outstandingly successful species.  Could we be so naive as to hope that these unfortunately failed Mars missions might engender a "wake-up" call for better stewardship of our one and only home?
   
Dr. George E. Schatz
Missouri Botanical Garden
P.O. Box 299
St. Louis, MO 63166-0299
U.S.A.
Phone: 314-577-9512
Fax: 314-577-9596
schatz at mobot.org