This report discusses the assessment of agrichemicals in ground water in the United States in the late 1970's. A series of recommendations are offered in this report to help solve the problems.

This report discusses the agricultural practices that are contributing to the contamination of groundwater, how to develop alternative practices, it outlines major components of the water quality issues, and describes the integrating and coordinating activities of the respective federal agencies.

This report discusses the level of technology required to produce weapons of mass destruction, the material required, and the export controls.

This report examines an array of sustainable development definitions and discusses their common elements.

This report concentrates on the impacts of telecommunications and computer technology over the next ten years on the civil sector of the federal government.

This report discusses options for a national policy based on the dual strategies of MSW prevention and better management. It also presents options to address immediate problems such as increased interstate shipments of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and unfinished Federal guidelines for landfills and incinerators.

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.

A report on exploring the EEZ for its mineral potential is in response to a joint request from the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. It examines the current knowledge about the hard mineral resources within the EEZ, explores the economic and security potential of seabed resources, assesses the technologies available to both explore for and mine those resources, identifies issues that face the Congress and the executive branch, and finally presents options to the Congress for dealing with these issues.

The principal aim of this report is to identify and assess the technological and institutional opportunities and constraints to maintaining biological diversity in the United States and worldwide.

This report examines how the economic environment of the United States can be made more conducive to improving manufacturing performance. It considers how Federal institutions, in cooperation with industry, can develop competitiveness strategies for high-tech, fast growing industries; and how trade, financial, and technology policies could be combined into a strategic competitiveness policy.

The report discusses contamination of the hydrogeological system (a primer), technologies to improve nutrient and pest management, farmer decision-making and technical assistance to reduce agrichemical contamination of groundwater, and public influences on agrichemical contamination of groundwater.

The report notes that America’s defense technology base has weathered significantly, with challenges to U.S. high-Technology firms from abroad, increasing dependence on foreign and civilian sources of technology for use in military systems, and growing technological sophistication of our adversaries.

Federal monitoring and enforcement action is dependent on technical capability to detect pesticides. A major concern is that Federal regulatory agencies cannot practically monitor food for all pesticides of health concern. OTA was asked to assess whether existing and emerging technologies could improve Federal monitoring of pesticide residues in food. In addition, OTA examined the Federal research programs dedicated to improving Federal analytical capabilities for the detection of pesticides in food.

This report is a comprehensive look at the problem as we now know it, the public concerns about the problem, and DOE’s plans for addressing it. It focuses especially on the need for additional attention to those areas which DOE has neither the capability nor the credibility to handle.

This report identifies several immediate steps the Federal Government could take. First, new environmental standards, population shifts, and industrial changes have transformed the nature of many public works problems, and Federal programs must be refocused to fit the new circumstances. Second, if we expect to maintain our economic health, the Nation must increase its investment in public works, despite budget dilemmas.

This report, the result of an assessment of the potential for automation and robotics technology to assist in the exploration of the Moon and Mars, raises a number of issues related to the goals of the U.S. civilian space program. Among other things, the report discusses how greater attention to automation and robotics technologies could contribute to U.S. space exploration efforts.

This report has gathered information on agricultural production throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, looked closely at specific, promising technologies such as agroforestry, small-scale irrigation, soil and water management, and the improved use of animals. As a result, it seems clear that low-resource agriculture has a sizable potential to contribute to increased African food security. Also, it is clear that low-resource agriculture must be enhanced in order to reach its full potential. This report identifies ways that U.S. development assistance can aid this process.

This report in the series illustrates a range of options for congressional action in three major areas of public policy related to this application of biotechnology: the criteria for review of planned introductions for potential risk, the administrative mechanisms for applying such review criteria, and the research base supporting planned introductions.

This report contains the results of that analysis. A review of critical intergovernmental issues for the Department of Transportation and State Governments has been added to the basic questions about the adequacy of Federal standards and programs. During the course of the study, it became clear that the report would have to consider how policy is implemented, and consequently, the relationship between the Department of Transportation and the States, which have become important partners in Federal safety programs.

This report identifies U.S. interests in Antarctica and evaluates the Minerals Convention relative to these interests. It examines the status of knowledge about the resources of Antarctica, the potential impacts of minerals development, and the technical, economic, environmental, geological, and political constraints to development in Antarctica.

The report on renewable resource development can help foster self-sufficiency, but certain approaches are not compatible with sustained development (e. g., harvesting resources until long-term productivity is lost, resources are depleted, or the environment is degraded). Similarly, policies, programs, and projects that seriously conflict with local cultures and customs are likely to be counterproductive.

This report involves collection of more than 10)000 pages of existing documents and preparation of more than 40 papers by outside experts under contract to OTA. Many of the OTA contract reports have been released to the National Technical Information Service or published elsewhere.

This report addresses the longer run issues that technology and certain other factors will have on American agriculture during the remainder of this century. It focuses on the relationship of technology to: agricultural production, structural change, rural communities, environment and natural resource base, finance and credit, research and extension, and public policy. This report is a first step toward understanding these interrelated problems and identifying policies to ameliorate them.

This report responds to a request from the House Committee on interior and Insu- Iar Affairs to assess the ability of current mining and reclamation technologies and methodologies, and of Federal programs and policies, to meet the statutory mandates for environmental protection in reclaiming the surface of Western coal mined lands.