US Government Considering charging For Earth Related Data
Another smack in the face of those of us trying to figure out what is going on. It would impact everyone and the worst part is that, well, we already pay for it. Those of us that already use what little data they have available would be destroyed and unable to report our findings, unless we could afford to purchase the data.
“It would be just a huge setback,” says Thomas Loveland, a remote-sensing scientist who recently retired from the USGS in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Article in Nature.
They do not want the people doing any research, and the fact that the USD will be worthless here in the not so distant future, if we do not stand up and say anything, soon EVERYTHING will be taxed! Reminds me of the Boston Tea Party.
It is serious exploitation, as always. If it gets approved this time, our country will backwards again, as our scientists will be strapped to have to pay for expensive data that should be freely available to them. Not many researchers can afford to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for critically important photos.