BIBLIOGRAPHIES: The Precautionary Principle

Bodansky, Daniel (1991), “Scientific Uncertainty and the Precautionary Principle.” Environment, 33 (7), 4–5, 43–44. (Daniel Bodansky argues that the precautionary principle is too vague to serve as a regulatory standard)

*Interpreting the Precautionary Principle, Eds. Tim O’Riordan & James Cameron. London: Cameron May. (A comprehensive anthology containing articles on most aspects of the precautionary principle.)

Cameron, James & Abouchar, Juli (1991), ‘The Precautionary Principle: A Fundamental Principle of Law and Policy for the Protection of the Global Environment.” Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, 14 (1), 1–27.

*The Precautionary Principle and International Law: The Challenge of Implementaion, Eds. David Freestone & Ellen Hey. International Environmental Law and Policy Series, vol. 31. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1996. (Another comprehensive anthology, primarily containing material on the legal and institutional aspects of the implementation of the precautionary principle.)

Cameron, James & Wade-Gery, Will (1995), “Addressing Uncertainty: Law, policy and the development of the precautionary principle.” Environmental Policy in Search of New Instruments, Ed. Bruno Dente. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 95–142.

CEC [Commission of the European Communities] (2000), Communication from the Commission on the precautionary principle. Brussels, 02.02.2000. COM 2000:1.

CEFIC (1995) The Precautionary Principle, Industry and Law-Making. Position Paper, 15/02/95.
CEFIC (1999). CEFIC Position Paper on the Precautionary Principle. Position Paper 08/12/99.
(These papers, available from the web site of the European Chemical Industry Council, contains many of the views of industry on the precautionary principle)

Charnley, Gail (1999), “President’s Message.” RISK Newsletter, 19(2), p. 2.

Charnley, Gail (2000), “1999 Annual Meeting: Past President’s Message. Risk Analysis Under Fire.” RISK newsletter 20(1), 3.

Chisholm, Anthony H. & Clarke, Harry R. (1993), “Natural Resource Management and the Precautionary Principle.” Fair Principles for Sustainable Development: Essays on Environmental Policy and Developing Countries, Ed. E. Dommen. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 109–122.

Cross, Frank B. (1995), “When Environmental Regulations Kill: The Role of Health/Health Analysis.” Ecology Law Quarterly, 22 (4), 729–284. (Contains a clear discussion of richer-is-safer arguments.)

*Cross, Frank B. (1996), "Paradoxical Perils of the Precautionary Principle." Washington and Lee Law Review, 53, 851--921. (A good overview of the risk-tradeoff arguments against the precautionary principle.)

Freestone, David (1991), “The Precautionary Principle.” International Law and Global Climate Change, Eds. Robin Churchill & David Freestone. London: Graham & Trotman/Martinus Nijhoff, Chapter 2, 21–39.

Godard, Olivier (1996), Integrating Scientific Expertise into Regulatory Decision-Making: Social Decision-Making under Conditions of Scientific Uncertainty, Expertise and the Precautionary Principle. European University Institute, Florence, Robert Schuman Centre. EUI Working Paper RSC No. 96/6.

Gray, J. S. & Bewers, M. (1996), “Towards a Scientific Definition of the Precautionary Principle.” Marine Pollution Bulletin, 32 (11), 768–771.

Hansson, Sven Ove (1995), The Detection Level. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 22, 103-109. (A discussion on a "precautionary" statistical measure.)

Hansson, Sven Ove (1997), “The Limits of Precaution.” Foundations of Science, 2, 293–306. (A decision-theoretical discussion on the limits of precaution. The precautionary principle is interpreted as the maximin decision rule.)

Hansson, Sven Ove (1999), “Adjusting Scientific Practices to the Precautionary Principle.” Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 5, 909–921.

Hickey, James E. & Walker, Vern R. (1995), "Refining the Precautionary Principle in International Environmental Law." Virginia Environmental Law Journal 14, 423--454.

Kaiser, Matthias (1997), “The Precationary Principle and Its Implications for Science.” Foundations of Science, 2, 201–205.

*Manson, Neil (1999), “The Precautionary Principle. the Catastrophe Argument, and Pascal’s Wager.” Ends and Means, 4 (1), 12–16. (Together with McKinney's article below the most clearly written presentation of the argument that the precautionary principle is absolutist and thus impractical as a decision rule.)

Martin, Philippe H. (1997), “If You Don’t Know How to Fix It, Please Stop Breaking It.” Foundations of Science, 2, 263-292.

McKinney, William J. (1996), “Prediction and Rolston’s Environmental Ethics: Lessons from the Philosophy of Science.” Science and Engineering Ethics, 2 (4), 429–440.

Myers, Norman (1993), “Biodiversity and the Precautionary Principle.” Ambio, 22, nr 2–3, 74–79.

O’Riordan, Timothy & Jordan, Andrew (1995), “The Precautionary Principle in Contemporary Environmental Politics.” Environmental Values, 4, 191–212.

Perrings, Charles (1991), “Reserved Rationality and the Precautionary Principle.” Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability, Ed. Robert Costanza. New York: Cambridge University Press, 153–166.

R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte Duddridge (1994), Journal of Environmental Law, 7, no. 2, 224–238. (A British legal case in which the application of the precautionary principle to electromagnetic fields from power lines was discussed.)

*Raffensperger, Carolyn & Tickner, Joel, eds. (1999), Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing the Precautionary Principle. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. (A comprehensive anthology that came out of the Wingspread Conference in 1998.)

Ready, Richard C. & Bishop, Richard C. (1991), “Endangered Species and the Safe Minimum Standard.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 72, iss. 2, 309–312.

*Sandin, P. (1999), ‘Dimensions of the Precautionary Principle.’ Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 5 (5), 889–907. (Contains an analytical apparatus that can be used to compare the stringency and precision of various versions of the precautionary principle.)

Sandin P. and Hansson S.O. (2002) ‘The Default Value Approach to the Precautionary Principle.’ Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 8(3), 463–471. (Introduces a simple formalised model in which the precautionary principle is interpreted in terms of default values of chemicals regulation.)

* Sandin, Per; Peterson, Martin; Hansson, Sven Ove; Rudén, Christina and Juthe, André. Five Charges Against the Precautionary Principle. Forthcoming in Journal of Risk Research. (Defends the precautionary principle against five common charges, namely that it is ill-defined, absolutist, and a value judgement, increases risk-taking, and marginalises science

UNCED (1993), The Earth Summit: The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992: Rio De Janeiro). Introduction and commentary by Stanley P Johnson. London: Graham & Trotman. (The Rio Declaration, often cited as the most prominent statement of the precautionary principle.)

van Dyke, Jon M. (1996), “Applying the Precautionary Principle to Ocean Shipments of Radioactive Materials.” Ocean Development and International Law, 27, 379–397.

Wildavsky, Aaron (1980), "Richer is Safer." Public Interest, No. 60. (The basic reference on the richer-is-safer argument, an argument often raised against the precautionary principle.)