From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Wed Oct 03 2007 - 19:47:48 PDT
>From: Cornell Chronicle Online <cunews_at_cornell.edu>
>Reply-To: Cornell Chronicle Online <cunews_at_cornell.edu>
>To: CUNEWS-PHYSICAL_SCIENCE-L_at_cornell.edu, CUNEWS-CAMPUS-L_at_cornell.edu,
>CUNEWS-SCIENCE-L_at_cornell.edu
>Subject: Cornell Chronicle: Congress gets bill to save Arecibo Observatory
>Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 17:42:18 -0400
>
>Chronicle Online e-News
>
>Congress gets bill to save Arecibo Observatory
>http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct07/Arecibo.bill.lg.html
>
>Oct. 3, 2007
>
>By Lauren Gold
>LG34_at_cornell.edu
>
>Congressmen Luis Fortuņo of Puerto Rico and Dana Rohrabacher of California
>have introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure
>continued operation of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. They want to
>guarantee future federal funding for the astronomical and radar-imaging
>facility.
>
>"The bill is an appeal for the NSF [National Science Foundation] and NASA
>to get together and talk about how they might jointly work to maintain the
>science program at Arecibo," said Robert Brown, director of Cornell's
>National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, which manages the facility for
>the NSF. Brown, also an adjunct professor of astronomy at Cornell, said:
>"It doesn't ask for something new; rather, it seeks to maintain what goes
>on at the moment. The observatory is really an icon to the people of Puerto
>Rico -- it allows young people see ... that Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans
>can be successful scientifically on a world stage."
>
>The observatory is facing severe federal budget cuts by 2011 as the result
>of an NSF Senior Review panel recommendation last year. The observatory has
>reduced its operating budget from $10 million to $8 million since last
>year, and funding will remain level over the next three years.
>
>Fortuņo and others in Congress have also written to the NSF seeking
>reconsideration of the recommended budget cuts. Fortuņo noted that the
>radio astronomy and radar capabilities of the facility are critical to
>detection and tracking of near-Earth objects (NEOs), including asteroids
>that could pose a hazard of catastrophic destruction and loss of life.
>
>The legislation introduced by Fortuņo and Rohrabacher would mandate the
>continued operation of the facility and would support the mission of NASA
>with respect to NEOs, as well as research for scientific and educational
>purposes important to Puerto Rico and the rest of the nation.
>
>Fortuņo said: "Nobel Prize-winning research has been conducted at Arecibo
>in the past and may be again in the future, unless the observatory is
>closed for short-sighted reasons. Maintaining this facility is an
>investment in our nation's future. The cost is small compared to the
>benefits for America and mankind."
>
>Said Rohrabacher: "Arecibo is a key resource in understanding the
>characteristics of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets so that they
>can be dealt with effectively. There is no room for error when it comes to
>eliminating a threat that could kill millions."
>
>
>
>##
>
>
>--
>
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