Pioneering in the modern age

As I read the coverage of 16 year old Abby Sunderland who recently attempted to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat and do so as the youngest to accomplish the feat, I was struck by the reaction to her failed attempt. Bad weather and a broken mast ended the quest and Abby was successfully rescued. Since then much attention has been placed on the attempt. Media reports slam her parents for exploiting her. Other reports ask the question, "Who pays for the rescue?". I must admit, I ask myself the same questions. Each time a mountain climber attempts to scale some great peak only to fail and require a tremendous amount of resources to rescue them, I ask the same questions..."Who is going to pay?, "Should they even be attempting this stuff?", "Why put rescuers in danger to satisfy your own sense of adventure?".
These are legitimate questions in a legitimate debate, however, what if we applied the same questions to adventurers of the past. What if Amelia Earhart had succumbed to modern attitudes toward adventure seekers? How about Admiral Byrd, Lewis and Clark, Sir Edmund Hillary? In the early 1970's NASA was forced to shutter the Apollo program due to increasing governmental and public perception that they were wasting money and undertaking unneccessary risks. Since then, save the shuttle and space station program, we stopped reaching beyond the stars.
When did we become complacent about stretching the limits of human endeavor. Sure there are risks every time someone reaches outside of their surroundings and put to the test their abilities and fortitude. That is how we as a race, the human race, have accomplished feats above and beyond the previously accepted norm.
As imperfect creatures created by a perfect God, our boundaries to grow, learn, and reach are almost limitless in this universe.
I still have not reconciled my own questions on this issue but something bothers me about squelching ambition. Ambition along with both it's successes and failures has always made the seemingly impossible, possible.