656 



Other items might well have been added to this list, such as : 



Control and testing of proprietary drugs ; 



Usesof nuclear explosions for civil purposes ; 



Weather modification, control, and prediction ; 



Persistent pesticides ; 



Communications satellites ; 



Genetic engineering ; 



Arms control ; 



Aircraft noise and environmental effects ; 



Human resources management: the international movement 

 and concentrations of scientific and technological talent; 



Inadvertent weather modification ; and 



Control of infectious disease and disease A^ectors. 

 Ac-cordingly., Professor Livingston proposes the creation of an "In- 

 ternational Technology Assessment Board, charged with four func- 

 tions: (1) contracting out specific technology assessment studies, (2) 

 liaison and cooperation with national technology assessment bodies, 

 (3) issuance of an annual report on the use of science and technology 

 for mankind, and (4) provision of fact-finding and mediation services. 

 He elaborates on all of these, but his comment on the fourth point is 

 -especially illuminating : 



This is a function not contemplated in the reports for a U.S. asse.ssment agency, 

 but iJotentially useful on the international level. Some of the important disputes 

 among states involve disagreements about the anticipated effects of large-scale 

 technological projects, particularly the multi-utilization of international river 

 systems and the carrying out of space experiments. . . . [Provision of such 

 .^services] would not be unprecedented. ICSU's Committee on Space Research 

 established a Consultative Group on Potentially Harmful Effects of Space 

 Experiments. ... At the adjudicatory level, several cases of air and water pol- 

 lution exist in wfhich states claimed damages resulting to their territories by 

 the harmful activities of neighboring states, with the issue resolved by tribunals 

 or courts."^ 



It is not evident whether or not the world is yet ready for an inter- 

 national agency of technology assessment. Indeed, in the United States 

 the issue as to the desirability of a domestic agency for this purpose 

 has not yet been resolved. Nevertheless, sentiment seems to be increas- 

 ing in the direction of some sort of international concordance regard- 

 ing the global impact of technology. For instance, the first annual 

 report of tlie Council on Environmental Quality "^ tabulated inter- 

 national agencies currently engaged in "international cooperation on 

 •environmental matters," in many of which the United States was a 

 participant. Tliese included: 

 A. The United Nations : 



Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) : 

 ^ Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization 

 (IMCO); 

 U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 



(UNESCO) ; 

 World Health Organization (WHO) ; 

 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) ; 

 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ; 

 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ; and 

 U.N. Conference on the Human Environment. 



102 Ibid., pages 166-170. 



i<" U.S. President's Council on Environmental Quality. "Environmental Quality : The 

 ^rst Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality together with The Presl- 

 ■dent's Message to Congress." (Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970), pages 

 199-209. 



