Rethinking risk and the precautionary principle / edited by Julian Morris.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Morris, Julian.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Health risk assessment.

Environmental risk assessment.

Environmental health--Government policy--Decision making.

Environmental health.

Environmental policy--Decision making.

Environmental policy.

Physical Description:

xvii, 294 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; Boston : Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000.

Summary:

The precautionary principle is frequently invoked as a justification for regulating human activities. From bans on the use of growth hormones in cattle to restrictions on children's playground activities, precautionary thinking seems to be taking over our lives. As the contributors to this book show, such an approach is of dubious utility and may even be counterproductive. This is a timely and important contribution to the debate on how to manage risk in the modern world. The editor, Julian Morris, is Director of the Environment and Technology Programme at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. He has written widely on issues relating to environmental protection and technological development. Up to date discussion of current issues and scientific controversies. Challenges the claim that the 'precautionary principle' is an appropriate guide to public policy decisions.

Contents:

1 Defining the precautionary principle / Julian Morris 1

2 Trial and error versus trial without error / Aaron Wildavsky 22

3 The precautionary principle and our obligations to future generations / Wilfred Beckerman 46

4 Precaution, GM crops and farmland birds / Tony Gilland 60

5 Genetically modified fear and the international regulation of biotechnology / Henry I. Miller, Gregory Conko 84

6 Asteroid collisions and precautionary thinking / Charles T. Rubin 105

7 Child protection and the precautionary principle / Helene Guldberg 127

8 Plastic panics: European risk regulation in the aftermath of BSE / Bill Durodie 140

9 The precautionary principle as a force for global political centralization: a case-study of the Kyoto Protocol / Bruce Yandle 167

10 Applying the precautionary principle in a broader context / Indur M. Goklany 189

11 A Richter scale for risk? / John Adams 229

12 Facts versus factions: the use and abuse of subjectivity in scientific research / Robert A. J. Matthews 247.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0750646837

OCLC:

45103010