The Precautionary Principle in the 20th Century: Late Lessons from Early Warnings

Harremoes, Paul (Edited by)/ Gee, David (Edited by)/ MacGarvin, Malcom (Edited by)/ Stirling, Andy (Edited by)/ Keys, Jane (Edited by)/ Wynne, Brian (Edited by)/ Vaz, Sofia Guedes (Edited by)

ISBN 10: 1853838926 / ISBN 13: 9781853838927

Published by Earthscan / James & James, 2002

About this Item

1st edition. 288 pages. 9.25x6.25x1.00 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1853838926

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Precautionary Principle in the 20th Century: Late Lessons from Early Warnings
• Publisher: Earthscan / James & James
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1853838926
• ISBN 13: 9781853838927
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.58 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Poul Harremoes is professor of environmental science and engineering at the Technical University of Denmark.
David Gee is project manager for emerging environmental issues and scientific liaison at the European Environment Agency (EEA), Denmark.
Malcolm MacGarvin is an environmental consultant based in Scotland.
Andy Stirling is senior lecturer at Science and Technology Policy Research (SPRU), University of Sussex, UK.
Jane Keys is a freelance environmental researcher based in the UK.
Brian Wynne is professor of science studies at Lancaster University, UK.
Sofia Guedes Vaz is an environmental engineer who has worked at the EEA on reporting, targets and emerging environmental issues.