Science and Technology Policy Commons^™

Clean Investment Monitor: Q4 2022 — Q3 2023, Madison Dwyer, Zachary Billot, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents investment trends in clean manufacturing, energy and industry, and retail in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This fact sheet examines data from the Q3 2023 update of the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM), a joint project of Rhodium Group and the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.

Digital Job Growth In The Mountain West, 2002-2020, Lana Kojoian, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data from the Brookings Institution report, “As the Digitalization of Work Expands, Place-based Solutions Can Bridge the Gaps,” which explores information on digital job growth in the U.S. The original report contains the digitalization scores of each state from 2002 to 2020 as well as scores for specific occupations. This fact sheet focuses on the digital job growth for each state in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) and their metros.

Cutting Edge Technology Metros In The Mountain West, 2021, Sofia Takhtadjian, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on cutting-edge technology metros in the Mountain West, as originally reported in the Commercial Cafe report, “Boulder Tops Silicon Valley as Most Cutting-Edge Metro in the U.S.” Of the top 30 cutting-edge metros in the nation, four are in the Mountain West: Boulder, CO (1st nationally); Denver, CO (7th nationally); Salt Lake City, UT (10th nationally); and Phoenix, AZ (27th nationally).

Science And Engineering State Indicators: Mountain West States, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines the Science & Engineering State Indicators database from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Renewable Energy Legislation In Nevada: 2017 - 2021, Peter Grema, Zachary Walusek, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

The purpose of this fact sheet is to summarize legislative actions from the biennial 79th, 80th, and 81st Nevada Legislative Sessions (2017, 2019, and 2021) regarding solar energy production and state efforts to reach 50 percent energy production from renewable sources by 2030. By 2050, Nevada has a statutorily mandated obligation to be a net-zero carbon producer in fulfilling energy production needs from large scale utility services.

Computer And Broadband Internet Access In Nevada And The Mountain West, Peter Grema, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet examines data on computer and broadband internet access throughout the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah). The original dataset from the United States Census Bureau is comprised of information from the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates on total households with a computer and broadband internet access for various geographic areas and demographic groups throughout the United States.

Women In Tech In The Mountain West Cities, 2021, Saha Salahi, Joshua Padilla, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data exploring the SmartAsset, “Best Cities for Women in Tech – 2021 Edition” and presents information on the best cities for women in tech in the Mountain West. This fact sheet focuses on the eight cities in the Mountain West region that appear within the 63 U.S. cities included in the original report.

Electric Vehicle (Ev) Infrastructure In The Mountain West, 2020-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet highlights data on electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging stations, as originally reported by Zutobi in The 2022 EV Charging Station Report. This report examines the presence of EV infrastructure across the United States. The Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are considered here.

Tech Innovation Capacity In Mountain West Metros, Ally M. Beckwith, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on the tech innovation capacity in Mountain West metropolitan areas, as originally reported in 2019 by Robert D. Atkinson, Mark Muro, and Jacob Whiton from the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. Tech innovation is defined as advanced industries that are America’s 50 high-R&D, high-STEM manufacturing, energy, and services industries ranging from aerospace and automobile manufacturing to solar electricity generation to internet publishing to bio-tech. Tech innovation is essential to the future of America’s economy. However, “superstar” metropolitan areas creating a regional imbalance within the innovation sector. The Brookings report examines metropolitan areas that are potential …

Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Capacity In Mountain West Metros, Olivia K. Cheche, Ally M. Beckwith, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet highlights data on artificial intelligence (AI) growth in Mountain West metropolitan areas over the last several decades, as originally reported by Mark Muro and Sifan Liu from the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. The Brookings report examines how various metros across the United States contribute towards AI technology creation and business activity.

State Technology And Science Activity In The Mountain West, 2020, Katie M. Gilbertson, Peter Grema, Saha Salahi, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet summarizes the 2020 State Technology and Science Index (STSI) report by Kevin Klowden, Aaron Melaas, Charlotte Kesteven, and Sam Hanigan of the Milken Institute. STSI rankings are summarized for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The index is a measure of how each state performs in several key metrics for supporting a knowledge-based economy.

How Startups Help Cities Measure Their Economic Development Frontier, Mary Blankenship, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet provides data on the ability of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the Mountain West to foster innovative and technology-driven industries, utilizing information presented by the Brookings Institution report, “How startups help cities measure their economic development frontier."

Signs Of Digital Distress: The Mountain West, Mary Blankenship, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Transportation & Infrastructure

This Fact Sheet examines the broadband services available and their subscription rates across major metro areas in the Mountain West, using the data and analysis found in “Signs of Digital Distress,” a report by the Brookings Institution.

The Future Of Work In The Mountain West, Ember Smith, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet highlights the potential net job growth in the Mountain West states (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado) and automation employment implications in each county in the region as detailed in The future of work in America: People and places, today and tomorrow, a report by the McKinsey Global Institute.

How Technology-Based Start-Ups Support U.S. Economic Growth, Mary Blankenship, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet examines the trends of technology-based start-ups within the United States and specific states in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico) across the top 10 technology industries in 2016, using data provided by a report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Digitalization And The American Workforce, Mary Blankenship, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet examines the rate of digitalization within the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) of the Mountain West division using the findings and data from Digitalization and the American Workforce, a report from the Brookings Institution.

Automation Potential And Artificial Intelligence, Ember Smith, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet highlights the automation potential in the Mountain West states (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado) and its metropolitan statistical areas using the findings of Automation and Artificial Intelligence: How machines are affecting people and places, a report by the Brookings Institution.

Eyes In The Sky: Public Attitudes Towards Police Use Of Drone Technology, Miliaikeala S.J. Heen, Joel D. Lieberman, Terance D. Miethe

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

No abstract provided.

Power Of Perspective: The Effects Of Public Perceptions Of Police And Fear Of Crime On Attitudes Towards Aerial Drone Use, Olivia G. Tuttle, Miliaikeala S.J. Heen, Mari Sakiyama, Terance D. Miethe, Joel D. Lieberman

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

Historically, unmanned aerial systems (UAS; i.e., drones) have largely been used by the military and federal government. As UAS have become more affordable and easier to operate in recent years, state and local law enforcement agencies have become interested in adopting this technology to facilitate a wide range of police activities (e.g., search and rescue, surveillance, tactical operations, etc.). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun to regulate the use of unmanned aerial systems, which will likely lead to the increased use of drone technology by law enforcement agencies across the country in upcoming years. However, previous research suggests that …

Consumer Protection And Cybersecurity: The Consumer Education Gap, David Serabian

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Consumer cyber protection as it relates to the threat of cyber insecurity is an increasingly critical issue with cyberattacks on major businesses such as Target and Sony. Over 100 million Americans to date have had their financial information compromised, and in the ten-year history of Verizon’s Payment Card Industry investigations no companies were compliant with Payment Card Industry standards at the time of the attack. In March 2015, the FCC fined AT&T $25 million for failing to adequately provide cybersecurity that resulted in almost 300,000 people having their personal and financial information compromised. It was the largest in FCC history …

The Original Intent Of The Wire Act And Its Implications For State-Based Legalization Of Internet Gambling, Michelle Minton

Occasional Papers

Recognizing the growing threat of organized crime, then U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sought to get the “bankrollers and kingpins” by introducing the Federal Wire Act in 1961, which sought to target the mob’s most profitable racket—bookkeeping on horseracing and sports gambling by prohibiting such gambling on the nation’s communication system at the time (telephone and telegraph). More than 30 years later members of Congress sought to use the Wire Act to stop the rise of casino-style gambling on the Internet. However, the scope of the Wire Act has been disputed among lawmakers, courts, and federal agencies. In 2011 …

Does Access To Information Technology Make People Happier? Insights From Well-Being Surveys From Around The World, Carol Graham, Milena Nikolova

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture summarizes new research on the relationship between access to cell phones, TV, and the internet and subjective well-being worldwide. Technology access is positive for well-being in general, but with diminishing marginal returns for those who already have much access. It is also associated with increased stress and anger among cohorts for whom access to the technologies is new. The increased financial inclusion in very poor countries that comes with cell phones and mobile banking also has effects on well-being. Well-being levels are higher in the countries with higher levels of access to mobile banking, but so are stress …

Innovation, Inequality, And The Commercialization Of Academic Research, Walter Valdivia

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Patent policy is rarely debated in relation to its distributive consequences. In particular, the Bayh-Dole Act has been discussed in terms of its effects on the pace of innovation or the organization of science. However, this lecture re-assesses this policy from the perspective of a fair distribution of resources, both those committed to and those created by research-based innovation. Specifically, examining the management of university’s intellectual property, Valdivia will identify the institutional arrangements that reinforce a very asymmetric distribution of political and economic resources among universities and then characterize subtle but important links between these inequalities and the social distribution …

Congressional Preferences And The Advancement Of American Nuclear Waste Policy, Rhoel Gonzales Ternate

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The problem of nuclear waste disposal has existed since the time of the Manhattan Project in World War II. Although there exist a number of technological hurdles, the main cause that has consistently plagued a solution to nuclear waste has been the politics behind it. This thesis attempts to add to the political literature behind nuclear waste disposal by examining the nuclear waste disposal preferences of members of the United States House and Senate. It then compares and contrasts those preferences with a report by President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. The hope was to determine if …

The Economics Of Cybersecurity: A National Dilemma, Allan A. Friedman

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Cybersecurity has dominated recent headlines, but policy makers and pundits alike still combine different risks, threats, and solutions. Crime, espionage, and international conflict represent different dangers to our society at the local and national level, and each has a set of bad actors with different incentives. Conflating these areas can lead to poorly framed solutions. Exploring the economics of cybersecurity offers a set of tools to understand these incentives, and the sometimes complex policy challenges that arise in dealing with digital risk.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Michael Phan, Jeniene Hassan

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to regenerate malfunctioning tissues and replace harmful cancer cells. Although it holds the potential to alleviate malicious disabilities and diseases, it raises ethical concerns due to the destruction of a fertilized human embryo. In certain religions (Catholics and Christians), embryonic stem cell research is detested due to the destruction of a human at its early stages of life (embryo). On the other hand, scientists believe that embryonic stem cells can “someday…used to treat human diseases.” (Hansen 879) This analysis on embryonic stem cell research will consider both the supporting and opposing side of …

Ethics Behind Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Samantha Haydock, Regine Dejesus

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Advancement in embryonic stem cell research can cure the world of sicknesses in ways that were only imagined. Out of all the stem cells, embryonic stem cells have the capabilities to develop into any cell and tissue type. Embryonic stem cell research is controversial due to how these cells are harvested. In harvesting these cells, the embryos are destroyed; further halting any development of a human being. We began our research by asking why this topic is an ethical issue. Using various media resources, we took key points from both sides and also looked into the latest advancements that may …

Ethics Of Paid Gamete Donation, Kyle Dayton, Maeleen Witte

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

This presentation shows the standing ethical questions in the aspect of gamete donation, analyzes them, and contrasts them. This article primarily focuses on whether it is ethical to pay a donor for their gametes (sperm or egg). Within this presentation, we question whether donation should be purely altruistic and not motivated by incentives.

Unlv / Brookings West: Intermountain West Region Regional Survey, University Of Nevada Las Vegas, Brookings Institute

Brookings Mountain West Publications

The 2010 Intermountain West Public Opinion Survey documents responses from 2,000 residents of the Intermountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah). Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications conducted the survey from August 23 – September 1, 2010. A minimum of 250 respondents for each state are included in the results for this survey. Respondents included 1,700 landline interviews and 300 cell phone interviews. Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications provides strategic planning, communications, project management, and research services to a wide range of non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and candidates for elected office.

The survey includes an extensive series …

Centers Of Invention: Leveraging The Mountain West Innovation Complex For Energy System Transformation, Mark Muro, Sarah Rahman

Brookings Mountain West Publications

America needs to transform its energy system to reduce its carbon intensity and make clean energy cheap. At the same time, the Intermountain West region (which includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah) possesses a unique confluence of world-class innovation assets; varied energy resources; and unparalleled opportunities to build out next-generation energy systems. To that end, the brief proposes that the federal government begin constructing a distributed Intermountain West network of federally-funded, commercialization-oriented, broadly collaborative energy research and innovation centers. Organized around existing capacities in a hub-spoke structure that links fundamental science with innovation and commercialization, these research …