No government funding for SETI!

Arecibo Observatory
Puerto Rico

Sorry, I have to display a thumbs down on any government financing for the SETI project and the use of the radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico--direct or indirect. NASA slowly pulled out of the project starting in 2001. The operation is part of Cornell University and performs many other functions other than the SETI project. As you know SETI stands for "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" and to date, after sending messages, there has been no response. I see no value spending precious government funds on a project of little value especially when one starts to calculate the time lapse involved in dialogue...one case being 25,000 years. Now the National Science Foundation is involved in this and that is where the government funding gets involved. The NSF also funds other Cornell/Arecibo Observatory projects. That's fine. But cease the government funding for a project that has no value. Private donations should be sufficient from those interested.

SETI

SpaceRef.com:

The plea from SETI...

"Save Arecibo Observatory"

Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest radio telescope and the source for the SETI@home data that your computer analyzes, faces massive budget cuts that will END its ability to continue the search for life beyond Earth. The decision to ensure full funding currently rests upon votes in Congress on Senate Bill S. 2862 and House Resolution H.R. 3737. These bills desperately need more support.

Please take a moment to help us SAVE ARECIBO.

Clicking the link below will direct you to a web page that allows you print out letters prepared for your Senators and Congressional Representative urging them to support Arecibo. Printing and mailing the letters is really easy, too! You will also have the chance to add a few personal thoughts, if you wish, to let your Senators and Representative know why this funding is important to you! And if you're really feeling passionate about saving Arecibo, please use these letters as the basis for letters you write yourself, urging your congressmen and women to vote to save Arecibo.

Because our representatives in Congress rarely give much attention to all the email they receive, printing out and MAILING these letters via standard U.S. Postal mail remains our best option for contacting them and our best hope for saving Arecibo (The second best option is to call your representatives). Your 42 cent stamps on these letters could help us get the millions of dollars needed to save Arecibo.

Our search cannot continue without the necessary support. Your work, as SETI@home participants, represents an indispensable resource for conducting the search. Now, we need your help to ensure that our other most valuable resource - our eyes and ears to the cosmos - can continue to probe the universe as we seek to answer the question: Is there anybody out there?


Thank you for your help,

The SETI@home Team



Arecibo Observatory--Wikipedia