http://www.biotech-info.net/handbook.pdf
THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN ACTION A HANDBOOK First Edition Written for the Science and Environmental Health Network By Joel Tickner - Lowell Center for Sustainable Production Carolyn Raffensperger - Science and Environmental Health Network and Nancy Myers
CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION.. 1 II. HISTORY OF THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE..............................................
..................... ........ 2 III. COMPONENTS OF PRECAUTION.............................................
..................... .................................... 3 IV. METHODS OF PRECAUTION .......................................................
..................... ................................. 4 V. EXAMPLES OF PRECAUTIONARY ACTION .......................................................
..................... ........ 6 VI. TRIGGERING PRECAUTION: A PROCESS FLOW...................................................
..................... ..... 7 VII. DIOXIN: AN ARGUMENT FOR PRECAUTION.............................................
..................... .............. 10 VIII. UNDERSTANDING UNCERTAINTY .......................................................
..................... .................... 11 IX. RISK ASSESSMENT OR THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE?
...................................................... 13 X. ANSWERING THE CRITICS................................................
..................... ......................................... 15 XI. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 17 XII. APPENDIX Wingspread statement, legislative and treaty language...............................................
....... 18 XIII. CONTACT INFORMATION............................................
..................... .............................................. 22
I. INTRODUCTION
'When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.' from the January 1998 Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary Principle
For years, the environmental and public health movements have been struggling to find ways to protect health and the environment in the face of scientific uncertainty about cause and effect. The public has typically carried the burden of proving that a particular activity or substance is dangerous, while those undertaking potentially dangerous activities and the products of those activities are considered innocent until proven guilty. Chemicals, dangerous practices, and companies often seem to have more rights than citizens and the environment. This burden of scientific proof has posed a monumental barrier in the campaign to protect health and the environment. Actions to prevent harm are usually taken only after significant proof of harm is established, at which point it may be too late. Hazards are generally addressed by industry and government agencies one at a time, in terms of a single pesticide or chemical, rather than as broader issues such as the need to promote organic agriculture and nontoxic products or to phase out whole classes of dangerous chemicals. When citizen groups base their calls for a stop to a particular activity on experience, observation, or anything less than stringent scientific proof, they are accused of being emotional and hysterical.
To overcome this barrier, advocates need a decision-making and action tool with ethical power and scientific rigor. The precautionary principle, which has become a critical aspect of environmental agreements and environmental activism throughout the world, offers the public and decision-makers a forceful, common-sense approach to environmental and public health problems. This Handbook describes how it can be used to make preventive decisions in the face of uncertainty and to drive actions that will protect public health and the environment. This comprehensive presentation of ideas is new, yet precaution is a concept citizen activists have promoted for years. We, the authors, invite you to try these ideas out and write the next chapters on the precautionary principle with us.
We are at an exciting juncture in the history of the world. On the one hand, we are faced with unprecedented threats to human health and the life-sustaining environment. On the other hand, we have opportunities to fundamentally change the way things are done. We do not have to accept 'business as usual.' Precaution is a guiding principle we can use to stop environmental degradation. ............... [snip] //////////////
Environmental scientific fraud exposed!
