[meteorite-list] Technical question about NomCom and Bulletin

From: Impactika at aol.com <Impactika_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 23:35:18 EDT
Message-ID: <1494c.c94858a.394065f6_at_aol.com>

Hello Jeff, and List,

Like you I have watched with interest this discussion. And now I would like
to give you my personal opinion.

I most certainly agree that all meteorites should be classified, and
published. With no exceptions, regardless of the country of origin and the local
laws.

But those local laws are a fact, they exist, are real, whether we like it
or not, and publishing them does not mean that we approve or oppose them; it
only means that we acknowledge their existence. The Meteoritical Bulletin's
purpose, I believe, is to inform the readers by publishing all the relevant
facts about each meteorite, and the local laws are as much a fact relevant
to that meteorite, and meaningful to the Meteorite Community, as the
circumstances of the discovery or the coordinates.

I would therefore suggest that they be published. It could be a simple
sentence in the geography section of the page or a link to the relevant
information published elsewhere. The Meteoritical Society is a large organization
with members in most countries of the world, I would believe that the members
could do the appropriate research in their own countries, and supply you
with the relevant information. Obviously it would have to be factual, truthful
information; publishing rumors, hearsay and unverified facts would certainly
defeat the purpose.

Thank you for listening to my opinion. And I certainly hope that you will
eventually tell us yours.

Anne M. Black
www.IMPACTIKA.com
IMPACTIKA at aol.com
Vice-President of IMCA
www.IMCA.cc


In a message dated 06/05/10 06:12:32 Mountain Daylight Time,
jgrossman at usgs.gov writes:
Martin and list,

No, votes do not have to be unanimous. No meteorite has even been
rejected on this basis. There are ongoing discussions both within the
nomenclature committee and between the committee and council about
ethical issues like this, and I would characterize several committee
members as "deeply concerned." But right now, it has not affected the
operations of the committee.

I think it would be a good discussion topic for the List. Some
questions could be, "Is it ethical for the Meteoritical Society to
approve and publish the names and data about meteorites for which there
may be doubt -- or just lack of information -- about whether they were
legally removed from their country of origin? Does such endorsement and
publication potentially provide some degree of support for illegal
activity?"

These are not easy questions. Note that the activities of the Society
only involve dissemination of information... the Society does not buy,
sell, or trade meteorites, nor directly support research done on them.
It is also a non-profit organization in the US with unpaid board and
committee members.

I would be glad to answer questions, but I will not participate in any
discussion on the List. I will listen.

Jeff

-- 
Dr. Jeffrey N. Grossman       phone: (703) 648-6184 
US Geological Survey          fax:   (703) 648-6383 
954 National Center 
Reston, VA 20192, USA 

Received on Tue 08 Jun 2010 11:35:18 PM PDT