IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envval/v13y2004i4p449-460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Lack of Clarity in the Precautionary Principle

Author

Listed:
  • Derek Turner
  • Lauren Hartzell

Abstract

The precautionary principle states, roughly, that it is better to take precautionary measures now than to deal with serious harms to the environment or human health later on. This paper builds on the work of Neil A. Manson in order to show that the precautionary principle, in all of its forms, is fraught with vagueness and ambiguity. We examine the version of the precautionary principle that was formulated at the Wingspread Conference sponsored by the Science and Environmental Health Network in 1998. That version fails to indicate who must bear the cost of precaution; what constitutes a threat of harm; how much precaution is too much; and what should be done when environmental concerns and concern for human health pull in different directions. Whether this vagueness is a strength or weakness of the principle depends on what purpose(s) the precautionary principle is supposed to serve.

Suggested Citation

  • Derek Turner & Lauren Hartzell, 2004. "The Lack of Clarity in the Precautionary Principle," Environmental Values, , vol. 13(4), pages 449-460, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envval:v:13:y:2004:i:4:p:449-460
    DOI: 10.1177/096327190401300403
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/096327190401300403
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/096327190401300403?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envval:v:13:y:2004:i:4:p:449-460. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.