Issues in Science and Technology articles from December 1994

Issues in Science and Technology archives from December 1994

Flat panel displays: a second look. (Pres. Clinton's flat panel display industry initiative)
December 22, 1994... With great fanfare, the Clinton administration last April unveiled a $587-million initiative to create a flat panel display (FPD) industry in the United States by the year 2000. The first awards authorized under the program, totalling $202...

Using economic incentives to reduce auto pollution. (Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990)
December 22, 1994... When the serious health threat posed by breathing ozone was recognized, Congress took aggressive action by writing emissions standards for new cars into the 1970 Clean Air Act. Because automobile emissions are the major source that react to...

Gearing up for electric cars. (includes related article)
December 22, 1994... The litany of motor vehicle evils is well known. Cars account for one-fourth of greenhouse-gas emissions and half of urban air pollution; they consume more oil than the nation produces at home. Efforts to solve these problems by reducing the...

Optimizing health care in developing countries.
December 22, 1994... All developing-country governments face a painfully difficult decision about how to distribute their very limited health care resources among the enormous needs of their citizens. According to World Bank estimates, developing countries, which...

A bipartisan strategy for U.S. manufacturing. (Manufacturing Task Force)
December 22, 1994... With a newly aligned Republican Congress and a Democratic president, Washington needs to identify issues on which both parties can work cooperatively. Strengthening the U.S. manufacturing sector is a goal shared by Republicans and Democrats...

Opening the global market for telecommunications.
December 22, 1994... A battle is waiting to begin. Telecommunications service firms around the world are gearing up for fierce competition with one another. This competition has the potential to radically change the industry in unpredictable ways - some firms will...

Star wars redux. (Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty)
December 22, 1994... Spurred by memories of Scud missile attacks on U.S. forces and allies in the Gulf War, pressured by hawks in Congress and technocrats at the Pentagon, and concerned about appearing "soft" on defense issues, the Clinton administration is on the...

Plugging the gaps in flood-control policy.
December 22, 1994... It is in the nature of waters to ebb and flow, and springtime floods are but one component of that natural rhythm. During the Great Flood of 1993, the flow was heavier than usual. As the waters surged and images of the flood filled our TV...

The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life.
December 22, 1994... "All men are created equal" is a political statement, not a scientific one. Individual variability is the biological norm of populations, and humans are no exception. The Constitution guarantees Americans political and legal equality, not...

Prometheus Bound: Science in a Dynamic Steady State.
December 22, 1994... The message of this book is that science is in a state of transition from the good old days of exponential growth to a new era of a "dynamic steady state." The emerging scientific system is being shaped by societal forces external to science as...

Who Owns Information? From Privacy to Public Access.
December 22, 1994... Anne Wells Branscomb has written a book that ought to alarm the public regarding the threats to personal privacy arising from the computer revolution's "information society." The author, a legal scholar-in-residence at Harvard University's...

The Capacity for Wonder: Preserving National Parks.
December 22, 1994... For both Americans and Canadians, the national parks are not just pieces of land but also a vital part of the culture. They provide refuge from the ills of society, beautiful spaces where mental and emotional refreshment can be sought. Lowry's...