|
|
Article: The precautionary principle: Schutz and Wiedemann respond.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
- Article from:
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Article date:
- August 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Salmony rightfully points to various examples for potentially harmful effects of human activities that call for strategies to cope with ambiguous risks. The precautionary principle is seen by many as the answer to this problem. We agree that the precautionary principle formulates a sensible maxim for coping with uncertainty. However, we are less confident that it provides a feasible solution.
There are at least two problems with the application of the precautionary principle. The first, which we addressed in our article (Wiedemann and Schutz 2005), is that applying the precautionary principle might have unintended and unwelcome effects--in our case, increase ...