[meteorite-list] NYT story

From: Shawn Alan <photophlow_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 23:49:28 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <179458.61628.qm_at_web35406.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Hello Agee and Listers,

Agee thank you for sharing your side of your story. I have to say I have read the NYT again and WOW. But again the title says it all.....Black-Market Trinkets From Space. The bias started off right in the title and the writer did a good job with getting readership, but in a bad way. I am not much of a person to keep up with NYT but I have to say he sure did know how to write a title.

At first I didn't notice it but then the word Trinkets popped. I am confused how the writer is demoting meteorite to mere trinkets that you get at a carnival or some quarter machine. Do people sell Trinkets on the BLACK MARKET.... No they sell big guns, and other expensive multi billion dollar items. It just shows that the NYT thinks this topic is a joke and all they need and want ratings. Black Market in any title will make people stop and take a look at the article.

But I do have to say out of this negative reporting it has promoted an awareness about meteorites and how important they are for science and history. As days pass and I learn more about new discoveries or old ones from historic books, I learn more about who we are as humans and how important these rocks are to us. I am fascinated by the rich stories and the new discoveries that can piece together it started.

However, this isn't the first time this has happened where people ride off each other for profit. Its been done from the first meteorite fall and will continue to do so because of the value that is put forth on meteorites and how they play a key role in understanding the universe. I just hope that science and collectors keep working together and making history happen as apposed to some other countries that have law on meteorite.
?
Shawn Alan
IMCA 1633
eBaystore
http://shop.ebay.com/photophlow/m.html?


[meteorite-list] NYT storyCarl Agee agee at unm.edu
Tue Apr 5 11:28:10 EDT 2011


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Since I am quoted in this article, here?s my reaction to it. The
reporter seems very confused, in that he lumps together a story about
the Gebel Kamil crater in Egypt and the legal meteorite trade (NWA)
based primarily in Morocco. During the interview with him I spent a
fair amount of time trying to explain to him how beneficial the NWA?s
have been for planetary science research. For example, I mentioned how
the number of rare Angrite meteorites has more than doubled due to
African finds ? a huge enhancement to our understanding of the early
solar system, and of course I mentioned all the lunars and martians,
and other rare classes. I told him that I was not terribly well
informed about the Gebel Kamil crater situation, but in my opinion the
highest priority would be to protect the impact structure from
degradation as these are quite rare on Earth. I also told him, that
the Gebel Kamil meteorites on the other hand, are probably not hard
to come by, and I?m sure if I wanted to study one for research, I
could get a sample at a reasonable price or even get one as a
donation from a collector, which museums benefit from frequently. I
did get the feeling that he was hoping to hear something negative from
me. As such he ended the interview rather quickly, but said something
like ?oh, the NWA meteorites sounds like an interesting story, I need
to come back to that at a later time?. So of course I was
disappointed to see what mess the final NYT version was.

-- 
Carl B. Agee 
Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics 
Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences 
MSC03 2050 
University of New Mexico 
Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 
Tel: (505) 750-7172 
Fax: (505) 277-3577 
Email: agee at unm.edu 
http://epswww.unm.edu/iom/pers/agee.html 
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Received on Wed 06 Apr 2011 02:49:28 AM PDT