There's a reason "volcano monitoring" is in the stimulus package just passed and, contrary to Governor Jindal, is not an example of wasteful government spending, not any more than building levees around New Orleans is. This is explained by Alaska's two senators in letters to the Governor.
Obviously, we don't have volcanos in Iowa, but each part of this country has its share of natural disasters [tornados, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, etc.] and having monitor and warning equipment seems, to me, to make sense.
We visited Alaska last summer for a few days and it's hard to put into words how magnificent the landscape is and how outsized it is. One certainly feels tiny in its presence.
