Rethinking Risk and the Precautionary Principle
- 1st Edition - October 3, 2000
- Latest edition
- Editor: Julian Morris
- Language: English
Rethinking Risk and the Precautionary Principle challenges the claim that the precautionary principle is an appropriate guide to public policy decision-making in the face of uncert… Read more
Rethinking Risk and the Precautionary Principle challenges the claim that the precautionary principle is an appropriate guide to public policy decision-making in the face of uncertainty.
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
Scientists and policy-makers, health and safety professionals and students. Professionals and academics in public administration and politics. Government and regulatory authorities
1. Defining the Precautionary Principle, Julian Morris2. Trial and Error vs Trial Without Error, Aaron Wildavsky3. The Precautionary Principle and Our Obligations to Future Generations, Wilfred Beckerman4. Precaution, GM Crops and Farmland Birds, Tony Gilland5. Genetically Modified Fear and Interntational Regulation of Biotechnology, Henry Miller and Gregory Conko 6. Asteroid Collisions and Precautionary Thinking, Charles Rubin7. Child Protection and the Precautionary Principle, Helene Guldberg8. Plastic Panics: European Risk Regulation in the Aftermath of BSE, Bill Durodie9. The Precautionary Principle as a Force for Global Political Centralization -- a case-study of the Kyoto Protocol, Bruce Yandle10. Applying the Precautionary Principle in a Broader Context, Indur Goklany11. A Richter Scale for Risk? John Adams12. Facts vs Factions - the use and abuse of subjectivity in scientific research, Robert Matthews
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: October 3, 2000
- Language: English
JM
Julian Morris
Affiliations and expertise
Institute of Economic Affairs