VC readers will know I am skeptical of many government interventions. But I view asteroid protection as a genuine public good. Budget deficit or not, we are not spending enough money to address this problem.
Here is a story about a recent near miss. Here is a group calling for greater asteroid protection, with Dana Rohrbacher (R-California) on board. As of late, Richard Posner has taken a strong interest in this problem, he also thinks that greater protection is needed.
Dont’ just look at standard cost-benefit analysis. Our preferences will adapt to not having the (relatively) small amount of money we should spend on greater protection. On the other side of the ledger, our civilization might never get over a major asteroid strike.
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