Archive for the 'Blogging on OTA' Category

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Document of the Day: OTA releases survey results on genetic tests and health insurance

Published on August 20, 2008 in Blogging on OTA and OTA report cited. byadmin

When we launched the OTA archive a few weeks ago we promised that new material not previously available to the public would be added to the archive. Today we’re happy to announce that some of this material is now available. Click here to read a copy of the press advisory that accompanied the release of this 1992 OTA report, “Genetic Tests and Health Insurance: Results of a Survey.”

The press release says:

The ongoing project to map human genes will almost certainly expand the number of DNA-based tests for genetic disorders by an order of magnitude over the next decade. How health insurers view such tests will affect their use, says the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA).
An OTA background paper issued today describes the results from a 1991 OTA survey of U.S. health insurers’ attitudes toward genetic tests and genetic information – both their attitudes towards genetic information in making determinations of insurability and how they might reimburse consumers for genetic tests.

This press advisory is one of eight newly available documents released in the summer and fall of 1992. Click here to check them out. We’d be happy to collect and scan similar documents if anyone has them.

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Science Analysis for Congress

Published on August 18, 2008 in Blogging on OTA. byadmin

By Phillip H. | The Intersection blog | August 15, 2008

The author reflects on the report, “Science and Technology Policy in Congress“, released earlier this spring by The Keystone Center and the Consensus Building Institute. The report includes a review “of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), including a look at its origins, its successes and challenges, and its ultimate demise in the mid-1990s.”  Phillip wonders, “do we really need to revive the Office of Technology Assessment?”

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OTA on Energy, Part 4

Published on August 8, 2008 in Blogging on OTA, Flash from the OTA Archive and OTA report cited. byadmin

We conclude our weekly feature on OTA reports related to energy policy with these four reports. Two examine energy security related to a disruption in U.S oil imports, and the other two discuss oil and gas exploration in the arctic and off the coast of the continental U.S. Our posts from earlier in the week are available here, here, and here.

U.S. Vulnerability to an Oil Import Curtailment, September 1984
“This report responds to a request by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for an analysis of the U.S. oil replacement capability in the event of an oil supply shortfall of indefinite duration.”

Oil and Gas Technologies for the Arctic and Deepwater, May 1985
“This assessment addresses the technologies, the economics, and the operational and environmental factors affecting the exploration and development of energy resources in the deepwater and Arctic regions of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) established in March 1983.”

Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: The Technology and the Alaskan Oil Context, February 1989
“In deciding the future of the ANWR coastal plain, Congress must address a wide variety of issues ranging from the environmental impacts of oilfield exploration, development, and production in an Arctic environment to the economic and national security benefits of potential additional oil production in Alaska…This report presents the results of an assessment of a subset of these issues focusing in particular on: the oilfield technology being used to develop the Alaskan North Slope’s oil resources and the likely configuration of that technology as it might be applied in the future to the coastal plain; and the prospects for future North Slope oil production, especially the likelihood that the flow of oil through the Trans Alaskan Pipeline System will suffer a serious decline during the next decade.”

U.S. Oil Import Vulnerability: The Technical Replacement Capability, October 1991
“Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 triggered a long-dormant awareness of this Nation’s vulnerability to disruptions in foreign oil supplies. Amid heightened concern over the potential impacts on U.S. oil supplies of prolonged hostilities in the Middle East, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources asked OTA to update the conclusions of our 1984 report, U.S. Vulnerability to an Oil Import Curtailment…The report’s conclusion that U.S. capability to replace lost oil imports is shrinking should be sobering to those who believe that there are quick and easy technological solutions, or that market forces alone will be sufficient to overcome the substantial economic and social dislocations that could result from a prolonged major oil disruption.”

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OTA on Energy, Part 3

Published on August 7, 2008 in Blogging on OTA, Flash from the OTA Archive and OTA report cited. byadmin

As part of our feature on OTA documents related to energy policy (click here for part 1 and here for part 2) we highlight four more reports that discuss emerging technologies.

Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential in the United States, January 1978
“It is estimated that about 300 billion barrels of discovered oil remain in the United States. However, conventional techniques of extraction can deliver only 10 percent of that oil economically, or about 30 billion barrels. What about the remaining 270 billion barrels? This report assesses the potential of enhanced recovery techniques for freeing more of this oil from the sandstone and limestone formations in which it is trapped.”

Application of Solar Technology to Today’s Energy Needs—Vol. I, June 1978
Application of Solar Technology to Today’s Energy Needs—Vol. II, September 1978
“This report reviews a range of solar energy systems designed to produce thermal and electrical energy directly from sunlight with units small enough to be located on or near the buildings they are designed to serve.”

Energy From Biological Processes, July 1980
“Energy from the conversion of wood and other plant matter represents an important underexploited resource in the United States. As renewable, abundant, and domestic energy resources, these and other sources of biomass can help the United States reduce its dependence on imported oil. The amount of energy supplied by biomass, now relatively small, could expand rapidly in the next two decades— a period when the Nation’s energy problems will be particularly acute.”

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From the Archive – Energy, Part 1

Published on August 5, 2008 in Blogging on OTA and OTA report cited. byadmin

It seems like everyone is talking about energy policy these days. In fact, both John McCain and Barack Obama are talking about their energy plans for the U.S. this week. What better time to highlight some of the OTA reports that discussed energy technologies, energy security, and alternative fuels? Of course the details in many of these reports are obsolete, but the issues are still relevant. Check back throughout the week as we highlight additional reports.

Energy, the Economy, and Mass Transit, October 1975
“OTA examined: (1) the probable effects of changes in energy supplies and prices on transit patronage and the transit industry; (2) the potential role of public mass transit programs in stimulating a depressed economy; and (3) the effect on the economy and urban transit if transit funds were sharply reduced. In addition, the study evaluates alternative transportation policies for responding to various economic and energy conditions and examines within this framework the effect of transit incentives and automobile disincentives on transit patronage and automobile use.”

Gasohol, September 1979
“The Office of Technology Assessment is currently preparing an assessment of energy from biological processes. In the course of this study we have carried out an extensive analysis of alcohol fuels from agricultural products. This technical memorandum presents these findings in response to congressional interest in synthetic fuels. The purpose of the memorandum is to illuminate the technical and non-technical issues surrounding the development of gasohol.”

Synthetic Fuels for Transportation: The Future Potential of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, March 1982
“This report presents a comprehensive review of the future of electric and hybrid vehicles through the year 2010 in the United States. It discusses the technology, performance, and limitations of probable future electric and hybrid vehicles; the infrastructure necessary to produce and support them; marketability; and finally, effects on the nation if used in large numbers.”

Increased Automobile Fuel Efficiency and Synthetic Fuels: Alternatives for Reducing Oil Imports, September 1982
“The study assesses and compares increased automobile fuel efficiency and synthetic fuels production with respect to their potential to reduce conventional oil consumption, and their costs and impacts.”

“Congress faces several decisions on how to reduce the U.S. dependence on imported petroleum. Two options, increased automobile efficiency and synthetic fuels, are particularly likely to be subjects of congressional debates.”

Replacing Gasoline: Alternative Fuels for Light-Duty Vehicles, September 1990
“Recent interest in alternative fuels for light-duty highway vehicles (automobiles and light trucks) is based on their potential to address three important societal problems: unhealthy levels of ozone in major urban areas; growing U.S. dependence on imported petroleum; and rising emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This assessment examines the following alternative fuels: methanol, ethanol, natural gas (in either compressed (CNG) or liquid (LNG) form), electricity (to drive electric vehicles (EVs)), hydrogen, and reformulated gasoline.”

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Coverage from Denialism Blog

Published on August 4, 2008 in Blogging on OTA, OTA Archive news and OTA on the net. byadmin

Posted Aug. 1, 2008

The folks over at denialism blog have a new write-up about the Office of Technology Assessment that mentions the OTA Archive project. The full post is available here.

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