PrintApril 10, 2010
How Much Risk Is Too Much?
An ancient common law principle has been hijacked by radical environmentalists. Life is full of trade-offs between the risks associated with our daily activities and the benefits. For environmental matters, the Precautionary Principle is a widely accepted idea that has now become a tool for environmental activists to effect social and economic change. The Precautionary Principle is a human health and environmental protection philosophy that has been internationally accepted. It is most famously set forth as Principle 15 of the United Nations' 1992 Rio Declaration. As defined, the Precautionary Principle states, "...where there are threats of serious and irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation." The Precautionary Principle in itself is not necessarily a radical environmentalist concept. The Principle has its basis in the same...(Read Full Article)
