Space exploration doesn’t seem like the government’s highest priority right now. There’s some healthcare website to fix, a widening income gap, climate change, and my inability to find a matching pair of socks (thanks, Obama). But Bill Nye the Science Guy (who now just goes by Bill Nye — guess it’s a Snoop Lion sort of thing) wants to change that.
Nye and his trademark neckwear made a three-minute video urging Obama to dedicate $1.5 billion a year to space exploration, because funding for NASA and the Planetary Science Program is about to be cut. After all, new discoveries create jobs and boost morale and stuff:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkWetbQHWlk]
Science rules! Matthew Tiscareno, a senior research associate at Cornell, has Nye’s back:
Planetary science gets less than 10% [of NASA’s budget], but it’s a part of NASA that does more than any other to inspire the public. Planetary science gives the agency a lot of bang for its buck.
Hmm. Maybe that $1.5 billion could come outta the $79.4 billion that Obama wants to spend on war in 2014? JUST A THOUGHT.
