143 



THE PRESENT RAD SYSTEM 45 



oology Applications Coqwration (NETAC) is an example of such a part- 

 nership. Established in 1988, NETAC is a nonprofit consulting company set 

 up through a cooperative agreement with EPA to focus on environmental 

 technology commercialization. NETAC has programs directed at the eval- 

 uation of new technologies, international technology transfer, and technology 

 development, demonstration, and evaluation, among others. It works to 

 combine a private-seaor profit orientation with a thorough understanding 

 of the demands and goals of government regulation. We believe that this 

 kind of partnership, focused on the needs of both the public and private 

 sectors, is a step in the right dirccuon. 



US. TECHNOLOGY POUCY AND THE ENVIRONMENT 



Despite the growing importance of environmental R&D in private industry 

 and the undeniable cormections between technology development and eco- 

 nomic health, to date there has been linlc prominence given to environ- 

 mental issues in U.S. technology policy. While other nauons around the 

 world suppon technological development as a way of solving national eco- 

 nomic problems, some devoting entire government departments to issues 

 of technology, the United States lacks even a "comprehensive coordinating 

 mechanism within the Federal government to evaluate the Federal effort 

 in developing tedinology."'* The lack of Federal support in basic technol- 

 ogy development and the lack of a long-term technology policy led the 

 World Resources Insritutc to conclude that the "need for the new tech- 

 nology to solve the envitotunental problems has been inadequately recog- 

 nized and that the government's role in encouraging such technologies is 

 underdeveloped."'' 



MATCHING RESOURCES WITH PROBLEMS 



Environmental protccrion efforts are expensive, and at a time of intense inter- 

 national economic comperition and growing federal deficits, it is imponant 

 to match resources carefully with problems. Over the past twenty years, the 

 United States (combined government and private efforts) has spent close 

 to $1 trillion on pollution control. It is estimated that environmental reg- 

 ulations imposed addirional costs totaling $109 billion in 1991. and that 

 these costs will increase to $184 billion annually by 1000.'' The economic 

 benefits are more difficult to quantify but may exceed the costs by a large 

 margin. 



