In Rockville, Md., one noon last week, geophysicists closed the circuits of the world's first earthquake-information center, connecting 400 seismic reporting stations throughout the world. In Oyster Bay, L.I., oceanographers launched a new wire-drag ship to hunt for undersea hazards, joining a fleet of 14 research vessels already commissioned. Throughout the week, weather satellites scanned the atmosphere for hurricanes, while "Project Stormfury's" planes stood ready to try diverting any budding tropical storm. All these related functionsand many moreare now controlled and operated by the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA), the bounciest baby bureaucracy in Big Government Science.
A bare 13...
