Britain has let its support for science, especially space science, languish in recent years. Whether it would be appropriate for NEO research to receive dominant priority in space science or environmental studies in Britain is another question - one that will be surely debated when the task force report reaches parliament and other levels of science policy in Great Britain. But, there is nothing wrong with a country taking on a particular role of excellence or contribution, and to the extent that Britain would take on such a role with NEOs, we can only welcome it. The task force should be congratulated on getting the salient material in a compact form - useful for government action. I had feared there might be some of the hysterical language, invoking doomsday, which often accompanies NEO discussion among those in the field.
Means now exist to mitigate the consequences of such impacts for the human species.
Thesre are both overstatements. But the emphasis on the report, even when discussing risk and mitigation, the emphasis of the report is on the need for knowledge. The section on risk nicely puts NEOs in the context of other environmental risks. Governments by now are used to dealing with environmental warnings and have a pretty good understanding of their politics. The report cited the large numbers involved, but well concluded that the answer is not in statistics but in deterministic data.