[meteorite-list] It is a sad day.....

From: Martin Altmann <altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 14:32:48 +0100
Message-ID: <005901cabf8d$03627ac0$07b22959_at_name86d88d87e2>

Good morning,

I don't know the U.S.-laws.
(Cause I was convinced, that USA would stay always the land of the free and
there was a different perception of the relation between citizen and state).

In general I think we have to differentiate between laws regarding ownership
of private individuals of new finds (finder-keeper, land owner ect.)- and
between laws from governmental entities, national or federal, which deal
with the general allowance to collect meteorites and whether finds are owned
by the state.

The latter are those laws, who led in these countries, where they were
introduced to a more or less complete break-down of new meteorite finds and
to a situation, that public funded meteorite science gets more and more
difficulties to justify its work due to the lack of the very objects of
research - which in the end leads often to the outcome, that the public
means for meteorite science are drastically shortened and even institutes
are closed down.

In USA that would be a minor problem, as USA is strongly involved in the
Antarctic finds.

I think we all are beyond that point, also the people supporting prohibitive
or restrictive laws, to doubt,
that - with a not so big generalization - that quite all new meteorites,
aside the Antarctic programs - are produced by the private sector.

The officially data published by the MetSoc are unequivocal.

There is given: Who had found the meteorites.

And there is given the number of new classified meteorites per year.

Easily one can see from that data, that in these countries where the private
sector was eliminated, the find rates dropped to more or less zero,
even in desert countries with a large surface and high annual find rates
before. Australia, Libya and so on.
And one sees that in countries with large surfaces like e.g. China and Egypt
with restrictive laws the find rates are highly below average compared to
countries with similar find conditions.

There we don't have to discuss about anymore - these are the scientific
data.


In USA, as everyone can see, there happened in the second half of the
1990ies a strong increase in the number of classified and published new
finds, which stayed since then on that high level, of up to 50 new
meteorites per year.
(Compare Australia with less 1 find per year, or Libya with 7 finds a year
or China with less than 1 new meteorite per year and Egypt with less than
2/year and so on).

These finds were generated by an increased number of private hunters.
And the annual find rates of the recent 15 years exceed those of the Golden
Age of the Nininger years.
And the increase of finds is fulfilling the objectives of the old working
group on meteorites of UNESCO, and happens in the best sense of the
constitution of the Meteoritical Society.

Other than perhaps Jason, no offense, I say, that meteorite
hunting/collecting in USA and the rest of the World is NOT a mass phenomenon
like gold prospecting, mineral and fossils collecting or artefacts hunting.

Meteorites are by number simply to rare and to difficult to find - 50
classified finds in the best years in USA, tells that.
Nor does the monetary/economical "value" of these meteorites play any role
and is negligible compared to the other hunting fields of artefacts, fossils
ect.
Therefore meteorite hunting in the U.S. never will be a mass phenomenon.


If it's true, that the laws will be changed, as Ruben told,
then there must have been a reason for that. Would be interesting to know
about. Because in general meteorites are so whack and exotic that no normal
people, including those occupied with legislation, pay any attention to
them.

Well, and if new laws will be introduced, you have to do something against.

Other than in countries, which are from the beginning on not able to
establish any meteorite science, due the lack of meteorites resulting from
having introduced inadequate laws, like Algeria, Argentina, China, Oman and
so on
and unlike these countries who are among bringing down their established
meteorite science by newer laws, like Australia, Poland, India ect
or are among ruining their traditional and historic role in meteoritics by
extreme cut-backs of funds, like France, Austria, Russia or Germany..

the USA are the leading nation of meteorite science with the most
meteoritical activities in science and the strongest institutions.

Smithonian, ASU, UCLA, TCU, Albuquerque, Johnson Space Center, Field Museum,
ANSMET, AMNH, Seattle, St.Louis...and many many more.

Therefore, if really such a law will be implemented,
you have to address to the scientists and curators of these universities and
museums - because I guess the majority of them is aware of, by whom and how
new and old finds are produced and also wherefrom the inventory of their
museum collections originally stems from - so they will agree, that such a
restriction means a harm for their work
and then you could work out a better proposal with them to correct that new
law.
You have to address of course also the president of MetSoc and I read, that
they installed there also a commission of ethics, which should be also
competent for such matters. Your U.S.-American contact person in that
working group for ethics should be Tim McCoy.

I wouldn't have any idea else.

We saw now, that for centuries the private sector, collectors, dealers,
hunters filled the institutes and universities with their recoveries,
which built up by far the greatest part of the public World inventory of
meteorites and that especially during the last 20 years, where aside a very
few single "official" hunts and Antarctica almost all meteorites were
generated by privateers. The new falls, the re-recovery of the old falls,
the desert finds and so on.

And we saw, that even if the original intention was good, in these years one
nation after the other made meteorite recovery more or less impossible.
Argentina, Algeria, Oman, Egypt, Libya, Poland, Canada, Denmark, China,
Russia, Australia, Canada, Namibia, India,.... with partially extremely
disastrous results.
Even several of the most productive find areas, all of them opened and
recovered by the private hunters, were closed.

The luxury to run hunting campaigns in Antarctica only a very few countries
can afford. And the finds there are to meagre to replace the enormous volume
and the significance of the meteoritic finds made by the private sector.

Still there are coming these meteorites in a paradisiac pace - though this
happens because (still) the private sector is working.
Working in a legally now grey area, caused by these new laws.
And even worse, many if not the majority of the scientists and curators -
this is no offense, but unfortunately meanwhile the actual reality - do have
to work in the same grey area in handling these meteorites.

Not only for us an unbearable situation.

Sounds dramatically - but it is. If we don't get back to reason and think
better about the requirements of meteoritic science, and if we don't do
nothing,

then we can forget meteorite science, private and public collecting,
meteorite dealing and meteorite hunting.

Never since Chladni published his treatise about the Fiery Meteors the
situation in World meteoritics was so bad like today.

Meteoritics is one of the most interesting ways of space exploration
and it is by far the most cost-effective method to do space exploration.

It's our choice, whether we want to continue or whether we want to give that
up.

To expect, that those, who are bringing all these meteorites to light, would
be willing to work in illegality or in doubtful circumstances and that in
all eternity,
on that I wouldn't rely.

Glad to live in a country, where I haven't these problems.
Alas - my country is green, humid and small.

Hey, I abstain from telling, that for each and every meteorite scientist and
collector it could be a form of patriotism to speak for liberal meteorite
laws in his country... although that would be a good idea :-)

Best!
Martin

    





 
Received on Tue 09 Mar 2010 08:32:48 AM PST