The national news media have also featured reports on SPS for the general public. The MacNeil/Lehrer Report had a nationally televised discussion of the pros and cons of the SPS on June 14, 1978. Several articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. Finally, the Project Office responds affirmatively to every request for information and operates under a policy of openness and accessibility. IV .12 What constituencies are being studied for their probable response to the SPS? There are no constituencies being studied, per se. Three groups - the Citizens Energy Project, the L-5 Society and the Forum for the Advancement of Students in Science and Technology - are cooperating with Planning Research Corporation in eliciting comments from members on results of the SPS program and in establishing a dialogue between the Project Office and these individuals. This dialogue serves several useful purposes. The Project Office can see if there are any concerns which are not being adequately addressed in the current assessment program. Furthermore, the questions which members of the three organizations pose enable the Project Office and the field staff to become more aware of the specific concerns people have about the SPS. The Project Office has also funded a study by Rice University to place the SPS debate within a broad social and cultural milieu. The objective of the project is to identify and relate the sociocultural factors which shape the public acceptability of advanced technologies. The study will attempt to do this by reviewing the public debate over large-scale commitments of public funds for the development of the nuclear industry and other highly sophisticated technologies. Opinion poll data covering energy-related issues will also be analyzed. The findings of these projects will be used by the Project Office to develop a continuing outreach program and to develop a process for long-term public involvement should the SPS program be continued. V . ABOUT THE DOE PROGRAM V.l Why is DOE even involved in the evaluation and development of the SPS? Why isn't the private sector doing this on its own? The concept of generating large amounts of electric power using satellites in space and transmitting it to earth originated in the private sector. A.D. Little's Peter Glaser first suggested the idea in 1968. The private sector has continued to follow development of the concept with interest. Public sector involvement in SPS investigation started relatively recently. The SPS is a long-term, large-scale venture, and has the promise to make a major impact on this nation's energy supply and economic situation if proven safe, and feasible technically and economically. This provides the basis for DOE interest. The DOE has supported a program to evaluate the SPS concept since 1976.
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