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Precautionary Principle
The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological Epistemology (; ) is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge Knowledge is a familiarity or awareness, of someone or something, such as facts A fact is an occurrence in the real world. The usual test for a statement of fact ..., philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes caution, pausing and review before leaping into new innovations that may prove disastrous. Critics argue that it is vague, self-cancelling, unscientific and an obstacle to progress. In an engineering context, the precautionary principle manifests itself as the factor of safety In engineering, a factor of safety (FoS), also known as (and used interchangeably with) safety factor (SF), expresses how much stronger a system is than it needs to be for an intended load. Safety factors are often calc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Epistemology
Epistemology (; ) is the Outline of philosophy, branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemologists study the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge, epistemic Justification (epistemology), justification, the Reason, rationality of belief, and various related issues. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Debates in epistemology are generally clustered around four core areas: # The philosophical analysis of the nature of knowledge and the conditions required for a belief to constitute knowledge, such as truth and Justification (epistemology), justification # Potential sources of knowledge and justified belief, such as perception, reason, memory, and Testimony#Philosophy, testimony # The structure of a body of knowledge or justified belief, including whether all justified beliefs must be derived from justified Foundationalism, foundational beliefs or whether justification r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established s. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their r ... of the Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptised Baptism (from the Greek language, Greek noun βάπτισμα ''báptisma'') is a Christians, Christian ... who served as the head of the church and the sovereign of the Vatican city state Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Cost–benefit Analysis
Cost–benefit analysis (CBA), sometimes also called benefit–cost analysis, is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives used to determine options which provide the best approach to achieving benefits while preserving savings. For example, in transactions, activities, and functional business requirements. A CBA may be used to compare, completed or potential courses of actions. Also to estimate (or evaluate) the value against the cost of a decision, project, or policy. It is commonly used in commercial transactions, business or policy decisions (particularly public policy), and project investments. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has to conduct cost-benefit analysis before instituting regulations or de-regulations. CBA has two main applications: # To determine if an investment (or decision) is sound, ascertaining if – and by how much – its benefits outweigh its costs. # To provide a basis for comparing investments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Risk Management
Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty Uncertainty refers to Epistemology, epistemic situations involving imperfect or unknown information. It applies to predictions of future events, to p ...s (defined in ISO 31000 ISO 31000 is a family of standards relating to risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about th ... as ''the effect of uncertainty on objectives'') followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Risks can come from various sources including uncertainty in international markets Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Carolyn Raffensperger
Carolyn E. Raffensperger is an environmental law, environmental lawyer and the executive director of the Science & Environmental Health Network, as well as being a leading expert on the Precautionary Principle. She has authored a number of papers and publications, as well as being featured in a number of notable magazines. Raffensperger was also a state field representative for the Sierra Club. Early life Raffensperger was raised in Chicago and is the daughter of John G. Raffensperger, a paediatric surgeon. After gaining an interest in archaeology while at college, she went on to study a bachelor's degree at Wheaton College (Illinois), Wheaton College, before then completing her master's degree at Northwestern University. She then worked in Dolores, Colorado, studying artifacts from the Anasazi people. She went on to work for the Sierra Club. Career Raffensperger joined the Science & Environmental Health Network (SEHN) in 1994 and became its executive director. Raffensperger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Cartagena Protocol On Biosafety
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement on biosafety as a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) effective since 2003. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to protect biodiversity, biological diversity from the potential risks posed by genetically modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. The Biosafety Protocol makes clear that products from new technologies must be based on the precautionary principle and allow developing nations to balance public health against economic benefits. It will for example let countries ban imports of genetically modified organisms if they feel there is not enough scientific evidence that the product is safe and requires exporters to label shipments containing genetically altered commodities such as corn or cotton. The required number of 50 instruments of ratification/accession/approval/acceptance by countries was reached in May 2003. In accordance with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Treaties Of The European Union
The Treaties of the European Union are a set of Treaty, international treaties between the European Union (EU) Member state of the European Union, member states which sets out the EU's Constitution, constitutional basis. They establish the various Institutions of the European Union, EU institutions together with their remit, procedures and objectives. The EU can only act within the competences granted to it through these treaties and amendment to the treaties requires the agreement and ratification (according to their national procedures) of every single signatory. Two core functional treaties, the Treaty on European Union (originally signed in Maastricht in 1992, aka The Maastricht Treaty) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (originally signed in Rome in 1957 as the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, aka The Treaty of Rome), lay out how the EU operates, and there are a number of satellite treaties which are interconnected with them. The treat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Commission Of The European Communities
The European Commission (EC) is the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union, responsible for Right of initiative (legislative), proposing legislation, enforcing European Union law, EU laws and directing the union's administrative operations. Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg City, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate. The Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament. It is common, although not a formal requirement, that the commissioners have previously held senior political positions, such as being a member of the European Parliament or a government minister. This Institutions of the European Union, EU institution operates as a cabinet government, with 27 European Commi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand (born December 14, 1938) is an American writer, best known as editor of the ''Whole Earth Catalog The ''Whole Earth Catalog'' (WEC) was an American counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture magazine and product catalog published by Stewart Brand several times a year between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. The magazine ...''. He founded a number of organizations, including The WELL The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL, is one of the oldest virtual communities in continuous operation. As of June 2012, it had 2,693 members. It is best known for its Internet forums, but also provides email, shel ..., the Global Business Network Global Business Network (GBN) was a leading consulting firmA consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expert advice for a fee. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a b ..., and the Long Now Foundation T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Wingspread Conference On The Precautionary Principle
The Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle was a three-day academic conference where the precautionary principle was defined. The January 1998 meeting took place at Wingspread, headquarters of the Johnson Foundation in Racine, Wisconsin, and involved 35 scientists, lawyers, policy makers and environmentalists from the United States, Canada and Europe. Background The formal concept evolved out of the German socio-legal tradition in the 1930s, centering on the concept of good household management. In German the concept is ''Vorsorgeprinzip'', which translates into English as ''precaution principle''. Many of the concepts underpinning the precautionary principle pre-date the term's inception. For example, the essence of the principle is captured in a number of cautionary aphorisms such as "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", "better safe than sorry", and "look before you leap". The precautionary principle may also be interpreted as the evolution of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Environmental Degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ... through depletion of resources such as quality of air File:Atmosphere gas proportions.svg, Composition of Earth's atmosphere by volume, excluding water vapor. Lower pie represents trace gases that together compose about 0.043391% of the atmosphere (0.04402961% at April 2019 concentration ). Number ..., water Water (chemical formula H2O) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known li ... and soil Soil is a mixture In chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
Rio Declaration
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, often shortened to Rio Declaration, was a short document produced at the 1992 United Nations "Conference on Environment and Development" (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit. The Rio Declaration consisted of 27 principles intended to guide countries in future sustainable development. It was signed by over 175 countries. History The Rio Conference, which adopted the Declaration, took place from 3 to 14 June 1992. Subsequently, the international community has met twice to assess the progress made in implementing the principles of the document; first in New York City in 1997 during a General Assembly Session of the UN, and then in Johannesburg in 2002. While the document helped to raise environmental awareness, evidence from 2007 suggested that little of the document's environmental goals had at that time been achieved. Content Referring to the "integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, "our home", the Rio Declarat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] |
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