Office of Technology Assessment, United States Congress, science, technology, policy
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?”
By Christopher Johnson, MD | Chris Johnson Blog | August 13, 2008
Dr. Johnson has a new blog post on children that are technology-dependent, or in other words they rely on technology in order to stay alive. He says:
“How many of these children are there in the community?…The only comprehensive data I could find for the USA are twenty years old, when a study (This 1987 OTA report, Technology Dependent Children: Hospital Vs. Home Care) from the federal Office of Technology Assessment estimated the total as 50,000 children (or about 5/100,000 persons) were technology-dependent, 2,000 of these needing ventilators.”
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.”
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.”
We’re continuing our feature of OTA reports related to energy policy (for yesterday’s post click here). Here are four reports that mainly focus on energy efficiency and conservation.
Residential Energy Conservation, July 1979
“This report is the result of a request from the Technology Assessment Board that the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) analyze the potential for conserving energy in homes in terms of energy and costs. The report reviews existing and promising technologies, and a broad set of issues affecting why these technologies are or are not used, how their level of use and effectiveness can be improved, and related Federal programs and policies.”
Building Energy Efficiency, May 1992
“Energy issues are of continuing policy concern, due to the crucial role played by energy in environmental quality, economic vitality, and national security. In recent reports OTA has suggested that energy efficiency is a critical component of a comprehensive policy framework to further these issues. This report addresses energy use and efficiency in U.S. buildings, which account for over one-third of U.S. energy consumption.”
Saving Energy in U.S. Transportation, July 1994
“This report assesses an array of transportation policies designed to reduce energy use and describes the intersection of these policies with general transportation problems such as congestion and air pollution.”
Renewing Our Energy Future, September 1995
“This study evaluates the potential for cost-effective renewable energy in the coming decades and the actions that have to be taken to achieve the potential.”