Rethinking Risk and the Precautionary Principle - Softcover

Morris, Julian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0750646837 ISBN 13: 9780750646833

Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000

Synopsis

This book 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.

About this title

Review

"this book will be of interest to OHS and environmental managers, practitioners and those studying at diploma or degree level for professional qualifications in these fields. If you have never encountered risk other than in the context of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, then this will provide some thought-provoking perspectives." Safety and Health Practitioner, Feb. 2002

"This is an illuminating expolration of a wide variety of real and imagined risks, and some of the more absurd responses of modern societies to them" --Trans IChemE, Vol. 79, July 2001

"The book is strongly recommended to the many undergraduate students of different disciplines whom are now introduced to health and safety, and to the many professionals now faced with such issues. It will help develop a healthy scepticism so necessary for the professional faced with ever increasing political interference, bureaucracy and regulation." --Professor Sir Bernard Crossland, CBE, FRS, FREng, in The Hazards Forum Newsletter, Spring 2001

"'For a view of risk at the level of society at large, and for a wider perspective on risk in general, it is an interesting read." --Health and Safety at Work, April 2001

"Morris is an intelligent and thought-provoking editor, who has gathered within the covers of a single book some of the best and brightest brains in the field of risk assessment and management. The chapter on global warming and Kyoto, by Bruce Yandle, should be made compulsory reading for every green fanatic." --Yorkshire Post - 5th April 2001

From the Publisher

When environmentalists fail to persuade us that there is an imminent threat of environmental disaster, they typically invoke the 'precautionary principle' in order to justify their calls for more regulation. The fundamental problem is that it is impossible to prove a negative, so the precautionary principle can be used to justify any regulation whatsoever. Taken in its extreme form, the PP would end civilisation.In its more practical form, the PP is about taking a hyper-cautious approach to change. This means imposing very strict controls on the licensing of new technologies and cutting back drastically on emissions of substances into the environment. The opening brace of papers discuss the dubious philosophical foundations of the PP, and considers the consequences of applying it in various policy contexts relating to current scientific controversies.Example Chapter3. Asteroids and Comets: Saving the Earth from Near Earth ObjectsPrecautionary Principle-type arguments have been used to call for massive spending on defending the earth against invasion by asteroids. In light of the opportunity costs of such expenditure and the very low probability of a collision, is such spending really justified?Charles Rubin

Edition details

• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0750646837
• ISBN 13: 9780750646833
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 316