The probability of damage from Genetic Engineering is certainly larger than that of an asteroid, especially since the study of the risks has not been very extensive. Can you imagine a corporate-led government shutting down GE with a comparable risk-reward structure?
Besides, we could theoretically stop GE [sort of, except that so much pollen has been released]. We don't even know that we could stop an asteroid without causing comparable harm. Moreover, the practice explosions would problably pose severe risks in themselves.
Kevin Robert Dean wrote:
> Britain's asteroid defence station goes ahead
>
> Eben Black, Chief Political Correspondent
>
> <http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/08/19/stinwenws01026.html>
>
> MORE than 65m years after a disaster from space
> probably wiped out the dinosaurs, the government is
> proposing a national research centre to protect
> mankind from the same fate.
>
> Lord Sainsbury, the science minister, will launch a
> competition this week for the contract to build a
> centre to research and explain the danger of human
> life being snuffed out by a giant asteroid. Museums
> and astronomical observatories will be invited to
> submit tenders to build and house the new
> multi-million-pound centre.
>
> Dinosaurs are thought to have been wiped out after a
> huge asteroid hit Earth, and scientists are concerned
> that further asteroid strikes present a similar risk
> to humans. Encouraged by the government, which has set
> up its own "near-Earth objects task force", they are
> already scanning the skies in an attempt to identify
> killer rocks that might be heading in our direction.
>
> "There are currently no known large asteroids or
> comets whose orbit puts them on a collision course
> with Earth, but while the risk of being hit is very
> remote, the potential for damage exists," said
> Sainsbury. "It is important that information on
> asteroids or comets can be made available to the
> public and I hope that organisations will be able to
> respond positively to our proposals."
>
> The proposed centre will include an interactive public
> exhibition to explain how asteroids and comets are
> formed and what might happen in the event of one
> striking Earth.
>
> Scientists calculate that there are 100m asteroids in
> space, with 1,413 charted as having the potential to
> collide with Earth. They say there could be many more
> on the way, which have not yet been discovered by
> astronomers.
>
> As well as the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, it
> is believed there are as many as 200 craters around
> the world which can be put down to "impact events".
>
> The huge Barringer crater in Arizona is thought to
> have been created by an impact 49,000 years ago. There
> was also an asteroid that struck the Tunguska forest
> in Siberia in 1908, destroying 700m acres of trees and
> incinerating everything for 100 miles.
>
> The asteroid responsible, an estimated 50 yards wide,
> was of a type which scientists expect to hit Earth
> every 100 years or so - leaving us possibly just seven
> years to prepare for a similar event.
>
> The government's interest in asteroids is not new. Its
> near- Earth objects task force reported last year that
> action needed to be taken to improve Earth's security.
> Its proposals included fitting all European space
> probes with asteroid detectors, building a giant
> telescope dedicated to hunting these objects, and
> fitting existing telescopes with asteroid detection
> software.
>
> Scientists argue that detecting asteroids early is not
> just an academic exercise. The dinosaurs were
> powerless to help themselves, but the development of
> rockets and nuclear bombs means that humans might be
> able to destroy or divert asteroids that are heading
> for Earth before they strike.
>
> There have been suggestions that the missile shield
> proposed by US President George W Bush to protect
> against strikes by "rogue" states such as North Korea
> and Iraq could be adapted to protect against asteroids
> and comets.
>
> Sir Patrick Moore, the astronomer and television
> personality, has given his personal backing to such a
> plan. He has described the chances of a dangerous
> impact as "not high but significant nonetheless".
>
> Jonathan Tate, director of Spaceguard UK, an
> organisation that has campaigned for government action
> since 1996, welcomed the initiative.
>
> "It is very important that the public and the media
> are better informed about the risks of asteroid
> impacts," he said. "You are 750 times more likely to
> die from an asteroid impact than you are of winning
> the national lottery jackpot. The public should not be
> unduly frightened - this is a problem we can fix. We
> already know what to do if we come across such an
> asteroid; we just need the infrastructure to carry it
> out."
>
>
> =====
> Kevin Dean
> Buffalo, NY
> ICQ: 8616001
> http://www.yaysoft.com
>
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--
Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901