How Will Earth's Leaders Respond to a Real Asteroid Threat?

Asteroid strikes haven’t gone the way of the dinosaurs. . . as the 2013 incident in Russia demonstrated.

Asteroid threats haven’t gone the way of the dinosaurs. . . as the 2013 incident in Russia demonstrated. It’s good that our leaders have begun to take notice, but just as missile defense lags far behind the need, so does this. Why not give asteroids the same consideration as other routine natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, forest fires, and earthquakes? However right we are to prepare for those, we are most foolish to ignore the threats that could render us extinct. — RDM

by Leonard David
Space.com
August 15, 2014

Asteroids have pounded Earth in the past and will continue to do so in the future. If a big one lines the planet up in its crosshairs, civilization itself could be imperiled.

Now, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has taken a step toward combating the asteroid threat. A special U.N. action team on near-Earth objects (NEOs) has recommended the creation of an International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), which is designed to gat…