selection of research and development projects of significant national importance. (D) METHODOLOGY FOR INTEGRATION OF MATERIALS INFORMATION AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT The management of information concerning all the different aspects of materials presents appalling difficulties. Yet, if decisions are to be wisely made, they must be made on a sound factual basis. Many different kinds of information need to be systematically gathered, accessibly maintained, and systematically analyzed. Examples of useful information generally not available in suitable scope and quality include A running inventory of the natural occurrence of minerals, by location, occurrence, extent, concentration, and probable cost of extraction; Interindustry input-output information on materials flows; Applied research projects in materials, cross-referenced to type of material and purpose of research. Modern techniques of computerized information management offer important promise of performing information storage and manipulation tasks hitherto impossible. The amount of information that can be processed at a time is increasing all the time. So is the depth with which units of stored information can be retrieved. Storage can accommodate numbers, facts, even pictorial information. It is now necessary to combine the study of what needs to be done with the study of what can be done, in order to exploit new information management tools for national purposes of materials surveillance. (See app. I.) (E) ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL CONSENSUS ON MATERIALS POLICY AND ACTION Attention has been repeatedly directed to the need for a changed attitude on the part of the American public toward resource management. The assertion has been reiterated until it has become trite that the wasteful exploitation of the wealth in the ground, the growing timber, the soil, and the other riches of nature can no longer be permitted. Put in this way, the proposition is generally accepted. But this statement is not an adequate guide to public or private policy. Physical waste is not the same as economic waste. The individual entrepreneur cannot afford to take the initiative to alter disposal policies that would place him at an economic disadvantage. The authority of Government is needed to achieve concerted action. But this authority must be used sparingly, and only under conditions of generally recognized need. The question of combining conservation with efficient utilization and disposal of materials ought to be resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of all. In mining, for example: What research should be undertaken to make more efficient the digging of ores and the extraction of values from them, so that the added costs of conservation practices can be met? In uses of materials and products: Should producers of products have an obligation that the product not add unnecessarily to the wastage of materials, or the generation of waste? If so, then how might this goal be accomplished? Should there be a strongly supported re search effort to make durable goods more durable, and items quickly discarded more rapidly self-destroying? In waste disposal and salvage: Should efforts be intensified in the education of the public to channel discarded materials responsibly so that they become available for re-use, rather than accumulate as litter? Should research be expanded in the ongoing effort to enable municipal waste disposal operations to reduce their product to the least possible volume, in the least polluting form (solid versus liquid versus gaseous), or converted into useful products where possible? Although there are many kinds of operations and programs that would be beneficial in improving the usefulness of materials to man, the changing context of modern society is such that the most immediate task is to develop a national understanding of the facts and their implications. (See App. J.) The preservation and restoration of the environment, and the inspirational appeals to "keep America beautiful" need to be backed by an understanding that some of the things that must be done are costly. These costs must be met if the goals are to be achieved. A national consensus on this issue must include a willingness to pay the costs and to distribute them equitably. V. PROPOSAL FOR A NATIONAL COMMISSION ON MATERIALS POLICY In the light of the foregoing considerations, it is judged timely and essential that a national commission be chartered and organized to study the present stance of the United States with respect to materials, and to make recommendations based on its findings. The objectives of the commission should be: 1. To identify the relationship of the broad subject of materials in all their aspects to national goals and objectives; 2. To define materials goals and objectives of the Nation; 3. To contribute to a broader understanding and awareness of materials problems and opportunities; 4. To maximize, to the extent permitted by the constraints essential to the national interest, the opportunities for free enterprise to function efficiently in the materials field; 5. To recommend a way in which the Federal Government can be equipped to Coordinate governmental policies and programs relating to supply/demand/disposal balance; Exploit the capabilities of scientific research and technological development to encourage practices and procedures in materials supply, use, and disposal to make them increasingly compatible with the national interest; Coordinate or conduct long-range studies of materials prospects and problems; Strengthen provisions for education and academic research in the expanding areas of expertise relating to materials; Coordinate the development of an information management system in materials, to satisfy all essential requirements of national policy formulation and program design: and Coordinate the development of programs affording a reasonable array of possible alternatives to meet future exigencies in the field of materials management. The commission should consist of from three to seven members, including a chairman and vice chairman. The members should have outstanding qualifications in industry, education, or Government service. The commission should be supported by a staff, headed by a staff director. In the recruitment of the staff, an effort should be made to obtain persons with solid and relevant experience and training, drawn in roughly even proportions from industry, academia, and Government. (See app. K.) The commission should be funded sufficiently (on the order of $2 million) to support housekeeping functions, pay staff and consultants, maintain adequate secretarial and clerical support, engage the services of appropriate research organizations, hold field hearings, and produce an adequate final report with supplementary papers for wide public distribution. Duration of the commission should be on the order of 18 months. Partisan bias attaches to some issues in the field of materials. In the forming and staffing of the commission, the nonpartisan nature of its task should be carefully preserved. The commission should attempt to approach matters at issue with a highly objective attitude. It is sug gested that the commission be sponsored and directed by congressional resolution. It would be expected that provision would be made for the commission to draw on appropriate agencies in the executive branch for technical and professional support as needed. (See app. L.) With the further addition of staff support obtained under agreement with the academic community and industry, the analytical and review proceedings of the commission would recognize the continuing concern and interest of all segments of the Nation, and thus contribute to the development of a national consensus. 11 APPENDIXES (The following pages contain a number of statements or reports, mostly prepared by members of the ad hoc committee, or at the request of Senator Boggs. Although they are intended to illustrate matters discussed in the foregoing report, their substance and conclusions are the individual responsibility of the authors. The appendixes are as follows:) A. B_ C.. D. F G I_ J. Appendix Title List of Participants in Ad Hoc Committee. An Illustration from the Copper Industry of the Some Remarks on the Possibility of a Congressional Non-Fuel Minerals Policy: A Research Design Study. Excerpts from Press Release; Department of the Methodology for the Creation of a National Materials Human, Educational, and Intellectual Resource Issues Alternative Arrangements for the Organization of a |