Book Summary of Backs to the Future: U S Government Policy Toward Environmentally Critical Technology by George R. Heaton, Jr., Robert Repetto and Rodney Sobin

Backs to the Future: U S Government Policy Toward Environmentally Critical Technology, George R. Heaton, Jr., Robert Repetto, Rodney Sobin, (Washington DC: World Resources Institute, 1992), 34 pp.

Backs to the Future: U S Government Policy Toward Environmentally Critical Technology is a government report which is an examination of: the national technology policy, the criteria for and a list of, environmentally critical technologies. Also addressed are private and public support for such technologies.

Backs to the Future: U S Government Policy Toward Environmentally Critical Technology will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of policy towards environmentally critical technologies. The work is divided into five sections, the first of which is an introduction. This section examines: national technology policy, the relationship between critical technologies and the environment, and a summary of the findings of this report. The second section considers the criteria for identifying environmentally critical technology.

The third section explains how the technologies which are the subject of this report were identified and presents a list of same with a comparison to other lists of such technologies. There are twelve technologies which are considered to be environmentally critical. The majority of these concern energy: capture, storage and application, and special end uses. Also included are: agricultural biotechnology, improved agricultural techniques, manufacturing monitoring technology, and catalyst technology. Additionally, technology which addresses: separation operations, precision fabrication, material design and processing, communication and finally contraception.

The fourth section explores private and public support for critical environmental technologies. This includes subsections on development of such technologies: in the private sector, when governmentally funded, and in other countries. The final section offers conclusions and policy options. The latter is presented following the recommendation for the formation of an environmental technology policy. Backs to the Future: U S Government Policy Toward Environmentally Critical Technology is a clearly written and nicely presented government report which addresses squarely, the issue at hand.