[meteorite-list] AD: METEORITE CLASSIFICATION SERVICE

[Dave Freeman mjwy]

A very large case of wanting "sumpthin-for-nuthin"???????????
Dave F.

stan . wrote:

>
>> The samples would be available
>> for the future experiments that anyone might conceive - rather than 
>> sitting
>> lost in some dusty drawer...or in a membrane box, decaying away on 
>> someone's
>> desk.
>
>
> Quite the contrary to this notion I feel that private collectors CAN 
> and DO serve to protect the science that lies trapped in meteorites. I 
> cant speak for all collectors (although i know othes who do this) but 
> just this week I recived a request from a lab in europe for samples of 
> material in my collection and I'll probably get around to sending them 
> out after the weekend. I even offered to look for specific material 
> they want that I dont have but may be able to aquire. My problem with 
> this whole issue is reading articles like this:
>
> "Save the space rocks! The meteorites are vanishing and if something 
> isn't done soon, most of Earth's rare space rocks could be gone in a 
> lifetime or so says the University of Arizona's Southwest Meteorite 
> Center, a newly founded organization created to combat what a UA 
> scientist and a private meteorite collector identify as part of the 
> problem: collectors. Samples that have fallen over millions of years 
> are being found and collected over just a few decades. Dealers are 
> buying meteorites at prices the scientific community cannot match and 
> cutting them into small pieces for sale to bidders in a flooded 
> market. In an attempt to save the space stones from becoming slivers, 
> the SWMC will offer collectors, dealers and enthusiasts a fair price 
> to obtain part of the vanishing meteorite legacy." 
> http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/24/wa/SRStoryDetails?ArticleID=12216 
>
>
> That sounds pretty darn anti-private collection and pretty darn 
> pro-'soak up whatever we can' to me.
>
> essentially all unusual meteorites get classified. that means type 
> specimins of all the 'good stuff' are being curated already, 
> protecting the scientific legacy. the only thing 'new' about the SWMC 
> is an organization trying to raise major funds to aquire major chunks 
> of what is avalible to the public - above and beyond the simple 
> curation of type specimins.
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
>