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The threat of a missile attack exists in the US, but the government is indifferent to building up a defense system and focuses more on strategies of revenge. Nearly 26 states, including developing ones, possess ballistic missiles of different ranges. The Third World states also possess chemical and biological weapons and have access to information on developing weapons of mass destruction through on-line services. The employment of Russian scientists in developing countries, smuggling of nuclear material, and sale of weapons technology by Russia and China have worsened the situation.

An optimum and cost effective defence strategy is most important for the U.S. in 21st century. This calls for a search of an effective method rather than acquiring costly means for future needs. The experience of NATO during the fifties to opt for nuclear deterrence to offset Soviet supremacy in conventional force justifies that method plays the pivotal role. Technological advantage must be reaped to the fullest. Separation of vested interests and other negative political factors is necessary in the process of defence policy formulation.

The need to revamp the U.S. space program and privatize the space transportation facilities has been brought to the notice of the policymakers. The space research and development policy that was pursued by the government until the end of the Cold War have been altered by the bureaucracy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Non-military space activity is not feasible from the point of view of national security. Methods of harnessing space energy for commercial use on Earth must also be developed.

The NATO partnership between the former communist countries faces a crisis, as Russia and a few other countries have decided to quit the NATO. The NATO alliance does not accommodate the demand of the former communist countries to protect against outside aggression. The alliance can be saved by assigning an alternative goal, which can be check the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.

Policy makers in the defense department should have a clear knowledge of history and the fundamental ideas of war, as political instability prevails in many countries following the advancement of missile technology and the end of the Cold War. When a defense policy is formulated, various issues such as the defense of NATO, budget proposals, control of the seas and control of the air have to be assessed.

The American Aerospace Industry can promote research on the effective utilization of solar energy, a cheap and clean alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Ground-based receivers to trap solar energy have not been efficient due to the atmosphere and the night and day cycle. Space-based collection will solve this problem. The Aerospace Industry can retain its influence on the economy in the post-cold war era by conducting research in this field.

The US and its allies should take immediate steps to adopt new methods for applying defense technology in the present age of nuclear advancement. Old defense policies that were laid down by service organizations in the nineteenth century are obsolete. If the bridge between old strategies and new technologies is not closed, it would prove disastrous to the national security.

The time has come for the US to focus on designing and building space vehicles that can carry passengers, other than astronauts, into space. Up to this point, there has been too much emphasis on scientific research, telecommunications and specialized payloads subsidized by commercial enterprise. The end of the Cold War is one reason the US can direct its resources to consumer space travel. In 1990, the Space Transportation Association was created to develop this industry.

Early applications of wilderness economic research demonstrated that the values of natural amenities and commodities produced from natural areas could be measured in commensurate terms. To the surprise of many, the economic values of wilderness protection often exceeded the potential commercial values that might result from resource extraction. Here, the concepts and tools used in the economic analysis of wilderness are described, and the wilderness economic literature is reviewed with a focus on understanding trends in use, value, and economic impacts. Although our review suggests that each of these factors is trending upward, variations in research methods plus large gaps in the literature limit understanding of long-run trends. However, as new data on wilderness use, visitor origins, and spatially referenced features of landscapes are becoming increasingly available, more robust economic analysis of both onsite and offsite wilderness economic values and impacts is now becoming possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]