Talk-Polywell.org

Excellent argument for a planetary defense system.

I'd like to add: it could be used to stimulate the commercial space industry (design the parts for lasers, asteroid-landing space-tugs etc., contract for commercial launchers to put them up). It could also keep a lot of NASA engineers employed. There would be lots of opportunity to try out different systems for comet/asteroid landers and deflection vehicles (ion drives, vasimrs, mach effect thrusters etc.). And, we would actually have a useful (perhaps life-saving) capability to show for all the tax money spent in the end... rather than a bunch of round trips in orbit or "stunt" landings on the moon or Mars.

After spending a couple of decades building a planetary defense system I bet we'd be in a better position to go colonize the moon and Mars properly (not stunt landings).

Thanks for the link.
To think that our leadership is hyper over a few feet of sealevel rise creeping up over decades if not more as we blithely ignore the potential for real catastrophe from the magnitude of impact that barely raises a blip in our history books.This is something I've been interested in and following for a while. Pretty good article in a magazine with a fairly influential readership. I hope it has serious postive repercussions amid the decision makers who up until now have been distracted by the sexiness of warming.
Agree with Cap'tB that everything about this will be better addressed from a serious space developement program.