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U.S. not prepared for possible asteroid strike

latimes.com — On the 100th anniversary of the devastating Tunguska event in Siberia, scientists and an Orange County congressman urge the government to take further defensive measures against near-Earth objects. A group of scientists draw attention to their belief that the United States is not doing enough to defend the planet against the dangers.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 6, 2008

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  • MtheoryX, on 07/05/2008, -6/+71Well, we're not prepared for Armageddon either, or hundreds of other "end game" scenarios...

    "draw attention to their belief that the United States is not doing enough to defend the planet against the dangers posed by near-Earth objects."

    Oh, I see. We're supposed to save the ***** planet. This all sounds very familiar.
  • BaseballGuyCAA, on 07/05/2008, -1/+42This sounds more like something you'd read in The Onion.
  • PaxRomana, on 07/05/2008, -1/+31Wow and to think Michael Bay warned us all those years ago...I don't even want to think about the current state of our giant robot protection plan.
  • nebben, on 07/06/2008, -3/+29America, ***** YEAH!
    Coming again, to save the mother ***** day yeah!
  • neo926, on 07/06/2008, -1/+25We've got Bruce Willis, what more do they expect us to do?
  • briansearles, on 07/06/2008, -1/+22What about the threat of aliens? Was I the only person who saw Independence Day and went home a political activist?
  • JasonCox, on 07/06/2008, -0/+18I ask of you, what country *IS* prepared for an asteroid strike? Hell, we cant even get proper funding for the Space Shuttle, you think they're going to fund an Joint Earth Defense Initiative?

    (edit: Ok, wow, I like that name. I just noticed that the acronym would be 'JEDI')
  • Naieve, on 07/06/2008, -3/+20Let Europe and Russia pay for it.

    We already pay enough into the UN.

    Your turn to ante up.
  • gavin422, on 07/06/2008, -4/+20It's because all our money is tied up in wars that are (slowly) accomplishing what an asteroid strike would manage in a few minutes.
  • vpshockwave, on 07/06/2008, -0/+16We should think ahead and have the oil drillers trained by next year.
  • theboyqueen, on 07/06/2008, -2/+17Dana Rorhbacher (R) from Orange County, what a shocker. The kids in Compton are dodging bullets and here we've got country club nutjobs worried about being hit by flying objects from outer space.
  • GorfTron, on 07/06/2008, -0/+9We need a war on asteroids.
  • reeftool, on 07/05/2008, -0/+9And just not enough of what should the US be doing? Lets spend a few billion tax dollars. Hire the same guys that build levees on the Mississippi for asteroid defense. I will sleep much better.
  • KrazyKoala, on 07/06/2008, -0/+8Bed, Bath and Beyond!
  • hiscity, on 07/06/2008, -1/+9Go check out the murder and domestic violence stats. Your family is much more likely to kill you.

    And in some cases deservedly so.
  • inactive, on 07/06/2008, -2/+10What about SARS? Birdflu? Comets? Aliens? Reptoids? Y2K?
  • ScurM, on 07/05/2008, -1/+9With all the stuff that is going on in the US at the moment, i think that an asteroid strike is the last thing on their mind.
  • Jhiaxuz, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7Not if this is relevanmt to the post but I am actually at bar which has internet access.

    The problem with asteroids is that we don't know the power they have until it happens. Look at Shoemaker- Levy ateroid which hit Jupiter. They happedned on Jupiter, but the fact that the affects created were above the size of the Earth should be a sign that we are not the center point to the universe.

    If we get hit by an asteroid 1km in diameter, than we are *****. Maybe not globally, but the size of the universe let alone our solar system can permit for objects tht size or more with fair ease with a little "luck" and even bigger. Ceres is a good example and that's just within our solar system.

    Either way, the only time we care is when it's a problem. Any other time it's just a cut to NASA funds which really affects our lengevity as a species.

    People are afraid of our own actions. I am more afraid by the actions of the violent nature of our universe but the ignorance we have towards these facts.

    Yeah, i', drunk but only because it's before rush hour at the bar.
  • KMartSheriff, on 07/06/2008, -1/+7I know, seriously. The U.S. isn't prepared for a "possible" asteroid strike?

    Oh, and like the rest of the world is? The world hates on America, but at the same time expects them to save everyone from asteroids?
  • Gregbertt, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6We could just make it illegal for an asteroid to strike. Problem solved.
  • inactive, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6Reptoids are a serious threat.
  • DigitAl56K, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6Space terr'rists!
  • xwfilm, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6George Bush doesn't care about asteroids.
  • Archer007, on 07/06/2008, -1/+7The Army Corps of Engineers built the New Orleans levees ABOVE specification. The trouble was that the levees were not not rated for the level of water they had to hold. Plus, if we had to assign an organization to protect against NEOs, it would be NASA or the Air Force. Get your facts straight.
  • T3hJ3hu, on 07/06/2008, -3/+8Am I the only one who saw this article's title and laughed hysterically?
  • gldfshnpcklejar, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5I have been stockpiling water... dinosaur comics anyone?
  • TokenBlack, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5Sportsmanship! Books!
  • spikes, on 07/06/2008, -2/+7The way they handled Katrina, NO.
  • t0x2c, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4You, sir, are contradictory.
  • cbdgr, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4But see their is a secret plan. Oil and large suvs is key to it. If theirs gonna be a asteroid strike, the media will tell everyone its going to be on east coast. Then everyone will drive like crazy to the west coast, in turn altering the rotation of the earth and causing the planet to move slightly off course and avoid the asteroid strike.
  • inactive, on 07/06/2008, -1/+5Just call the asteroids "terrorist space rocks" then they will pay attention.
  • Archer007, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4Y3K?
  • desertDenizen, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4The U.S. certainly has embarked on some short-sighted, fool hearty, self-destructive trajectories in recent years. Not sure why you're being dugg down. Dugg. I think there's more to you answer than clever irony. You identify a pervasive hubris.
  • tmyprod, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4Raptors?
  • inactive, on 07/06/2008, -2/+6I love it. The whole world, and most diggers hate the US for taking charge of any worldwide problem, but when it costs money and the enemy isn't terrorists, sure, US, you go fix this.
  • tatinthehat, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4The question is: is any country ready for an asteroid strike??
  • topgigmedia, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3News Flash: The US isn't prepared to do a lot of things. Take a look around. Enough said.
  • rz8472, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3The solution is clear - hire a bunch of hick oil riggers just like they did in the movie.
  • Rapter09, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2At this point an asteroid strike would be a good thing. It just needs to hit Washington.
    But spare the innocent Washingtonites; our asteroid comes only for your politicians.
  • kh99, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3Someone should figure out a way to make this into a major campaign issue, just for the fun of it.
  • AbsurdParadox, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3BREAKING: The sky is falling!
  • MWeather, on 07/06/2008, -1/+4They're expendable. Especially Liechtenstein.
  • cheezintern, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3Oh No! I doubt the US is prepared for a sudden and unexpected collapse of the universe either.
  • Carter313, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3Yeah, digg him down for telling the truth. As an Iowan I can say that we have handled the flooding well, even better than the response to the flooding of 1993. Our cities will be back to normal shortly, which is much more than I can say for New Orleans.
  • OriginalReplica, on 07/06/2008, -1/+4Actually we are cutting the budget to the Arecibo radio telescope, which is the best piece of equipment we have for spotting incoming asteroids.
  • MWeather, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2The US isn't prepared for a hurricane,and we see several of those a year. Why would we be prepared for something that hasn't happened in 100 years?
  • 9bpm9, on 07/06/2008, -1/+4Uhhh, what about the other 200+ countries on this planet?
  • FrankDrebbin, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3I thought it was from The Onion at first.
  • neocr0n, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Haha there is no being prepared for a possible asteroid strike, you could given the right amount of time in theory at least change its trajectory, but still I think the responsibility lies with the international community not just the US. Regardless of what country it might hit. The sky is too big to know about all asteroids and one could sneak up on us. We just have to ride out our luck for the time being until we have more powerful observation tools at our finger tips and thats not going to happen any time soon if we keep blowing billions on pointless wars and handing the smartest minds in the world just a fraction to work with.
  • PUNJABISINGH, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3well that's just great
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