Regulating environmental outcomes without stipulating the technologies to accomplish them is a characteristically American form of governmental intervention. This approach aims to encourage industry to address public-policy concerns while minimizing interference in its affairs. However, California's zero-emission-vehicle mandate of 1990 implied the development of specific technologies with highly disruptive sociotechnical effects. The most practical zero-emission vehicle of the day was the all-battery electric vehicle, a technology characterized by the temporal mismatch of its components. Batteries have shorter life-spans than electric motors, a durability dilemma that rewards battery-making. In response, General Motors and Toyota devised strategies to mitigate this risk that involved mediating the technology of the Ovonic Battery Company.

在没有规定技术成果的情况下调节环境成果是美国政府干预的一种典型形式。这种方法旨在鼓励行业解决公共政策问题，同时最大程度地减少对其事务的干预。但是，加利福尼亚州1990年颁布的《零排放汽车规定》暗示了具有破坏性的社会技术效应的特定技术的发展。当今最实用的零排放汽车是全电池电动汽车，该技术的特征是其组件在时间上不匹配。电池的使用寿命比电动机短，这是电池制造过程中的耐久性难题。作为回应，通用汽车和丰田公司设计了缓解这种风险的策略，其中涉及调解Ovonic Battery Company的技术。