SETI has just resumed operation after it went into hibernation due to funding shortfalls. But looking for life in the universe is a costly endeavor, and they need bigger and better radio telescopes.

The part that I find astonishing is that the entire program costs less than one Apace attack helicopter and it does not receive any funding from the government or NASA. They are financed entirely by private contributions.

My feeling is that most people would support this mission if they had the chance, and they would rather put their tax money into radio telescopes than instruments of war. So what could Reddit do? Or more importantly, what could -you- do? I hope I can spark a debate that will ultimately benefit SETI, but they would benefit even more from a substantial crowd funding effort.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_for_extraterrestrial_intelligence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SETI_Institute

http://www.seti.org/

http://www.reddit.com/r/SETI/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EszGIvRdgTE Jill Tarter of SETI @ TED 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRkdPhhCdhw Dr. Jill Tarter - Searching for ET: An Investment in Our Long Future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXUL8FUlzQo&t=52m23s Jill Tarter talks about funding and being a full time fundraiser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7tGBg38rzc Jill Tarter's astronomical work is illustrated in Carl Sagan's novel Contact. In the film version of Contact, the protagonist Ellie Arroway is played by Jodie Foster. Tarter conversed with the actress for months before and during filming, and Arroway was "largely based" on Tarter's work.

Jill Tarter: "Our best estimates seem to indicate that in our galaxy, we may not be alone as the only race of intelligent creatures. Perhaps out there another planet with its own budget problems is sending off a handful of radio signals into the darkness of the space with the hope that it might be heard by someone else in the vastness of the Milky Way galaxy. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we weren’t listening?"