Precautionary Politics

Author : Kerry H Whiteside
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2006-10-06
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780262265157

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Precautionary Politics by Kerry H Whiteside Pdf

The precautionary principle—which holds that action to address threats of serious or irreversible environmental harm should be taken even in the absence of scientific certainty—has been accepted as a key feature of environmental law throughout the European Union. In the United States, however, it is still widely unknown, and much of what has been written on the topic takes a negative view. Precautionary Politics provides a comprehensive analysis of the precautionary principle—its origins and development, its meaning and rationale, its theoretical context, and its policy implications. Kerry Whiteside looks at the application of the principle (and the controversies it has stirred) and compares European and American attitudes toward it and toward environmental regulation in general. Too often, Whiteside argues, American critics of the precautionary principle pay insufficient attention to how the principle has been debated, refined, and elaborated elsewhere. Precautionary Politics fills this gap. Whiteside demonstrates the different responses of Europe and the United States, first by describing the controversy over genetically modified crops, and then by using this example throughout the book to illustrate application of the precautionary principle in different contexts. He contrasts the European view that new types of risk require specially adapted modes of regulation with the American method of science-based risk assessment, and argues that despite Bush administration opposition, U.S.-European convergence on precaution is possible. Finally, he looks at the ways in which participatory innovation can help produce environmentally positive results. Whiteside's systematic defense of the precautionary principle will be an important resource for students, scholars, activists, and policymakers and is particularly suitable for classroom use.

Author : David Vogel
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2012-04-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400842568

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The Politics of Precaution by David Vogel Pdf

The Politics of Precaution examines the politics of consumer and environmental risk regulation in the United States and Europe over the last five decades, explaining why America and Europe have often regulated a wide range of similar risks differently. It finds that between 1960 and 1990, American health, safety, and environmental regulations were more stringent, risk averse, comprehensive, and innovative than those adopted in Europe. But since around 1990, the book shows, global regulatory leadership has shifted to Europe. What explains this striking reversal? David Vogel takes an in-depth, comparative look at European and American policies toward a range of consumer and environmental risks, including vehicle air pollution, ozone depletion, climate change, beef and milk hormones, genetically modified agriculture, antibiotics in animal feed, pesticides, cosmetic safety, and hazardous substances in electronic products. He traces how concerns over such risks--and pressure on political leaders to do something about them--have risen among the European public but declined among Americans. Vogel explores how policymakers in Europe have grown supportive of more stringent regulations while those in the United States have become sharply polarized along partisan lines. And as European policymakers have grown more willing to regulate risks on precautionary grounds, increasingly skeptical American policymakers have called for higher levels of scientific certainty before imposing additional regulatory controls on business.

Author : Elizabeth Charlotte Fisher,Judith S. Jones,René von Schomberg
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 353 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2006-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781847201676

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Implementing the Precautionary Principle by Elizabeth Charlotte Fisher,Judith S. Jones,René von Schomberg Pdf

This challenging book takes a broad and thought-provoking look at the precautionary principle and its implementation, or potential implementation, in a number of fields. In particular, the essays within the book explore the challenges faced by public decision-making processes when applying the precautionary principle, including its role in risk management and risk assessment. Frameworks for improved decision making are considered, followed by a detailed analysis of prospective applications of the precautionary principle in a number of emerging fields including: nanotechnology, climate change.

Author : Jonathan Baert Wiener
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 602 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781933115863

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The Reality of Precaution by Jonathan Baert Wiener Pdf

First Published in 2010. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Author : Philip Ackerman-Leist
Publisher : Chelsea Green Publishing
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2017-10-28
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781603587068

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A Precautionary Tale by Philip Ackerman-Leist Pdf

Mals, Italy, has long been known as the breadbasket of the Tyrol. But recently the tiny town became known for something else entirely. A Precautionary Tale tells us why, introducing readers to an unlikely group of activists and a forward-thinking mayor who came together to ban pesticides in Mals by a referendum vote—making it the first place on Earth to accomplish such a feat, and a model for other towns and regions to follow. For hundreds of years, the people of Mals had cherished their traditional foodways and kept their local agriculture organic. Their town had become a mecca for tourists drawn by the alpine landscape, the rural and historic character of the villages, and the fine breads, wines, cheeses, herbs, vegetables, and the other traditional foods they produced. Yet Mals is located high up in the eastern Alps, and the valley below was being steadily overtaken by big apple producers, heavily dependent on pesticides. As Big Apple crept further and further up the region’s mountainsides, their toxic spray drifted with the valley’s ever-present winds and began to fall on the farms and fields of Mals—threatening their organic certifications, as well as their health and that of their livestock. The advancing threats gradually motivated a diverse cast of characters to take action—each in their own unique way, and then in concert in an iconic display of direct democracy in action. As Ackerman-Leist recounts their uprising, we meet an organic dairy farmer who decides to speak up when his hay is poisoned by drift; a pediatrician who engaged other medical professionals to protect the soil, water, and air that the health of her patients depends upon; a hairdresser whose salon conversations mobilized the town’s women in an extraordinarily conceived campaign; and others who together orchestrated one of the rare revolutionary successes of our time and inspired a movement now snaking its way through Europe and the United States. A foreword by Vandana Shiva calls upon others to follow in Mals’s footsteps.

Author : Jon Entine
Publisher : A E I Press
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Political Science
ISBN : STANFORD:36105114520815

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Let Them Eat Precaution by Jon Entine Pdf

The often-confrontational debate over the development of agricultural and pharmaceutical products made with the help of genetic modification has drastically limited the exploitation of this still new technology. This book focuses on the risk and rewards of genetic modification, the differing paths the dialogue on GM has followed in Europe and the developing world in contrast to the United States, how the debate impacts the commercial realities of companies developing new products, and what strategies might foster more constructive discussion over the costs and benefits of genetic manipulation to bring about more rational and internationally coordinated public policy.

Author : Nancy J. Myers,Carolyn Raffensperger
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 360 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Nature
ISBN : UOM:39015062625945

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Precautionary Tools for Reshaping Environmental Policy by Nancy J. Myers,Carolyn Raffensperger Pdf

A hands-on guide to implementing the precautionary principle and avoiding harm through foresight and wise decisions.

Author : Indur M. Goklany
Publisher : Cato Institute
Page : 135 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2001-10-25
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781933995854

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Precautionary Principle by Indur M. Goklany Pdf

The "precautionary principle" -- the environmental version of the admonition first, do no harm -- is now enshrined in numerous international environmental agreements including treaties addressing global warming, biological diversity, and various pollutants. Some environmentalists have invoked this principle to justify policies to control, if not ban, any technology that cannot be proven to cause no harm. In this innovative book, Goklany shows that the current use of the precautionary principle to justify such policies is flawed and could be counterproductive because it ignores the possible calamities those very policies might simultaneously create or prolong. The precautionary principle, unfortunately, does not provide any method of resolving such dilemmas, which are commonplace in the field of environmental policy. To address that problem, Goklany develops a framework consistent with the precautionary principle to resolve such dilemmas. That framework ranks potential threats to the environment on the basis of their nature, magnitude, immediacy, uncertainty, persistence, and the extent to which they can be alleviated. Applying that framework to three contentious environmental policy issues facing humanity and the globe -- DDT, bioengineered crops, and global warming -- Goklany shows that some popular policy prescriptions, despite good intentions, are in fact likely to do more harm than good.

Author : Paul Harremoes,David Gee,Malcom MacGarvin,Andy Stirling,Jane Keys,Brian Wynne,Sofia Guedes Vaz
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2013-10-11
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781134207787

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The Precautionary Principle in the 20th Century by Paul Harremoes,David Gee,Malcom MacGarvin,Andy Stirling,Jane Keys,Brian Wynne,Sofia Guedes Vaz Pdf

The precautionary principle is widely seen as fundamental to successful policies for sustainability. It has been cited in international courts and trade disputes between the USA and the EU, and invoked in a growing range of political debates. Understanding what it can and cannot achieve is therefore crucial. This volume looks back over the last century to examine the role the principle played or could have played, in a range of major and avoidable public disasters. From detailed investigation of how each disaster unfolded, what the impacts were and what measures were adopted, the authors draw lessons and establish criteria that could help to minimise the health and environmental risks of future technological, economic and policy innovations. This is an informative resource for all those from lawyers and policy-makers, to researchers and students needing to understand or apply the principle.

Author : Timothy O'Riordan
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 316 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2013-07-04
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781134165780

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Interpreting the Precautionary Principle by Timothy O'Riordan Pdf

Viewed from the perspective of environmental management, this study describes the implications and applications of the precautionary principle - a theory of avoiding risk even when its likelihood seems remote. This principle has been employed in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the North Atlantic Convention, yet it is not widely understood. This study examines the history and context of the principle, and its applications to law, governmental policies, business and investment, scientific research and international relations.

Author : Aristotle
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 455 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 1981-09-17
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780141913261

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The Politics by Aristotle Pdf

Twenty-three centuries after its compilation, 'The Politics' still has much to contribute to this central question of political science. Aristotle's thorough and carefully argued analysis is based on a study of over 150 city constitutions, covering a huge range of political issues in order to establish which types of constitution are best - both ideally and in particular circumstances - and how they may be maintained. Aristotle's opinions form an essential background to the thinking of philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas, Machiavelli and Jean Bodin and both his premises and arguments raise questions that are as relevant to modern society as they were to the ancient world.

Author : Julian Morris
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2000-09-19
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780080516233

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Rethinking Risk and the Precautionary Principle by Julian Morris Pdf

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

Author : Jennie Oldham,Rebecca Willis
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 29 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Environmental risk assessment
ISBN : 0953016064

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Precaution in Practice by Jennie Oldham,Rebecca Willis Pdf

Author : Levente Szentkirályi
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 213 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2019-11-22
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780429521058

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The Ethics of Precaution by Levente Szentkirályi Pdf

There are thousands of substances manufactured in the United States to which the public is routinely exposed and for which toxicity data are limited or absent. Some insist that uncertainty about the severity of potential harm justifies implementing precautionary regulations, while others claim that uncertainty justifies the absence of regulations until sufficient evidence confirms a strong probability of severe harm. In this book, Levente Szentkirályi overcomes this impasse in his defense of precautionary environmental risk regulation by shifting the focus from how to manage uncertainty to what it is we owe each other morally. He argues that actions that create uncertain threats wrongfully gamble with the welfare of those who are exposed and neglect the reciprocity that our equal moral standing demands. If we take the moral equality and rights of others seriously, we have a duty to exercise due care to strive to prevent putting them in possible harm’s way. The Ethics of Precaution will be of great interest to researchers, educators, advanced students, and practitioners working in the fields of environmental political theory, ethics of risk, and environmental policy.

Author : Camellia Webb-Gannon
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2021-06-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780824888893

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Morning Star Rising by Camellia Webb-Gannon Pdf

That Indonesia’s ongoing occupation of West Papua continues to be largely ignored by world governments is one of the great moral and political failures of our time. West Papuans have struggled for more than fifty years to find a way through the long night of Indonesian colonization. However, united in their pursuit of merdeka (freedom) in its many forms, what holds West Papuans together is greater than what divides them. Today, the Morning Star glimmers on the horizon, the supreme symbol of merdeka and a cherished sign of hope for the imminent arrival of peace and justice to West Papua. Morning Star Rising: The Politics of Decolonization in West Papua is an ethnographically framed account of the long, bitter fight for freedom that challenges the dominant international narrative that West Papuans' quest for political independence is fractured and futile. Camellia Webb-Gannon’s extensive interviews with the decolonization movement’s original architects and its more recent champions shed light on complex diasporic and intergenerational politics as well as social and cultural resurgence. In foregrounding West Papuans’ perspectives, the author shows that it is the body politic’s unflagging determination and hope, rather than military might or influential allies, that form the movement’s most unifying and powerful force for independence. This book examines the many intertwining strands of decolonization in Melanesia. Differences in cultural performance and political diversity throughout the region are generating new, fruitful trajectories. Simultaneously, Black and Indigenous solidarity and a shared Melanesian identity have forged a transnational grassroots power-base from which the movement is gaining momentum. Relevant beyond its West Papua focus, this book is essential reading for those interested in Pacific studies, Native and Indigenous studies, development studies, activism, and decolonization.