[meteorite-list] It's now an even sadder day...what happened to ethics??

From: Dennis Beatty <apollocollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 11:16:34 -0800
Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP9061E19D16FCC40C1542E5B6340_at_phx.gbl>

Hello Martin,

I am glad that we have had people like Nininger "out there" hunting
meteorites and helping us to understand their significance. It is
because of their efforts that we have the treasured collections which
you mentioned in your e-mail. However, I don't believe that Mr.
Nininger would be pleased with what is happening today. Instead of
being treated as treasures of knowledge and items of beauty,
meteorites have become a commodity. Specimens are now cut and chipped
into small specks (in some cases nothing more than powder) which seem
to be of little or no value to science. All in the name of profit.

Thanks,

Dennis


On Mar 9, 2010, at 10:34 AM, Martin Altmann wrote:

> Hi Dennis,
>
> the problem is, that meteorite are found by private individuals.
> The American people wouldn't have almost any meteorites, if not
> people like
> Nininger, Ward, or today Clary, Verish and all these hunters, who
> would
> banned by such laws, would have found them.
>
> See Australia, when I bought my first meteorites 30 years ago,
> Australia ranked on place number 2 in meteoritics and had so many
> new finds.
> They made laws,
> now less than 1 meteorite is still found per year on the whole
> continent,
> while in USA, where private hunting and ownership is liberal, many
> dozens
> new classified finds were made per year, and even more not yet
> classified
> and new main masses of old finds were recovered like Brenham, like
> Glorieta,
> and also much less specimens of the big showers like West, or the new
> Arizone strewnfield would be on public display and in the
> institutes, if not
> these private hunters would have hunted them.
>
> Australia btw. where so strict laws are in force, has the much better
> hunting grounds than the U.S.
> Dennis, seen the explosion of finds during the last 15 years, in
> Sahara, in
> Oman and in USA,
> it is really like that, that Australia without these laws, could
> have now
> already several lunaites, Martians, Rumurutiites, ACAPs and how the
> scientifically especially interesting meteorites types all are
> called, in
> their national collections and museums.
> Iiiiif only they would allow private hunting.
>
> The personal gain... the best US-desert hunters don't even make the
> minimum
> wage which is mandatory in some of the federal states with their
> finds.
> Simply because you have to pick up hundreds of meteoritic stones
> first,
> until you have your first eucrite and thousands, if you want to have a
> planetary one.
>
> The right way, to get meteorites in public collections is to
> encourage and
> to support private meteorite hunting!
>
> Dennis, I don't know, where you live - and which is your next major
> public
> meteorite collection. Let it be the Field museum, the AMNH in New
> York, TCU
> Fort Worth, New Mexico... almost all meteorites displayed there do
> stem
> originally from private collectors, private finders, private dealers
> and
> private hunters.
>
> And to support private meteorite hunting and to take the stones into
> the
> institutes and museums doesn't cost a thing.
> E.g. we here in Europe - an episode only in history - had once the
> EUROMET
> project. These made btw. two of the three last official expeditions in
> Australia.
> They had only personnel costs - only for personnel - of 15-20
> million todays
> USD per year.
> Dennis - there aren't found enough meteorites on Earth per year,
> that you
> could spend 20 millions a year.
>
> Well, and such laws do not protect meteorites, neither do they protect
> property of the people,
> what they do is, to protect meteorites from being found.
>
> Without meteorites, you can't do meteorite science, whithout finding
> them,
> the people has nothing.
>
> The solution is relatively simple,
> We wouldn't have to discuss about laws,
> If the nations would equip financially their universities and national
> meteorite collections in the same way again like the 150 years before.
>
> Cause then, we all can turn back to business as usual.
>
> Best!
> Martin
>
>
> -----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] Im Auftrag von
> Dennis
> Beatty
> Gesendet: Dienstag, 9. M?rz 2010 18:46
> An: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Betreff: [meteorite-list] It's now an even sadder day...what happened
> toethics??
>
> I have sporadically read the comments regarding the implementation of
> new (or newly enforced) BLM rules...and am saddened and disappointed
> at the overall tone of the responses. What is it about us and our
> love of meteorites that gives us the right for personal gain?? As I
> understand it, any item found on public land belongs to the American
> people not some lucky individual that happens to stumble across
> something of value. I have read several posts where fellow collectors
> have stated that should they find a meteorite on public land, they
> will merely "refind" it on private land. Sheesh!! I will be going
> back through this thread much more carefully and if those types
> comments are tied to any dealers, I will definitely not patronize
> them. And were is the IMCA on this?? Isn't ethical dealing one of
> their mainstays??
>
> Perhaps I am naive, but I had envisioned our group as seekers of
> knowledge rather than modern day anti-government, do as I damn well
> please rustlers.
>
> Well, there goes two cents...
>
> Dennis Beatty
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Received on Tue 09 Mar 2010 02:16:34 PM PST