Jan 16 1976
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
An impartial "science court" to weigh controversial national issues such as pesticide use or nuclear-reactor safety was one of several ideas under consideration by two advisory groups appointed by the President last year to give the proposed White House office of science and technology a head start in its task of making major policy decisions. Dr. Simon Ramo, chairman of the advisory group on technological contributions to economic strength, pointed out that no procedure existed for dealing with scientific and technical portions of important issues. Dr. William O. Baker, president of Bell Laboratories, would chair the other advisory group on advances in science and technology. A 2-day meeting of the groups in Washington ended with the plan to test the science-court idea in an experiment, choosing a controversial issue in which a clearcut statement of scientific facts seemed feasible, then arguing the case with advocates and cross examinations for both sides, with an impartial panel of scientific judges to make the decision. Dr. Ramo said the experiment should teach the advisory groups about the issue they chose, help the government agency that must deal with the issue, and demonstrate whether the court idea would work. Major issues , on which the advisory groups would attempt to assist the White House included the world problem of food and nutrition, the issue of technological innovation and its effect on productivity, and the effect of government regulation on advancement in science and technology. (NYT, 16 Jan 76, 32)
The board of directors of Communications Satellite Corporation (ComSat) declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share payable 15 Mar. to all shareholders of record at close of business 13 Feb. The group's 22nd consecutive quarterly dividend would be the 7th at the 25-cent rate. (ComSat Release 76-1)
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