(fwd) - new Wingspread statement

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

=====  A message from the 'endohealth' discussion list  =====
>From: HBreen@island.net
>To: Georgia Strait Alliance
>Date: 28 Jan 1998 17:08:12 PDT
>Subject: H2O: Fwd: Necessity of the Precautionary Principle
>
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>Dear Colleagues,
>
>Last weekend at an historic gathering at Wingspread, headquarters of the
>Johnson Foundation, scientists, philosophers, lawyers and environmental
>activists, reached agreement on the necessity of the Precautionary Principle
>in public health and environmental decision-making.  The key element of the
>principle is that it incites us to take anticipatory action in the absence of
>scientific certainty.
>
>At the conclusion of the three-day conference, the diverse group issued a
>statement calling for government, corporations, communities and scientists to
>implement the "precautionary principle" in making decisions.
>
>According to their statement, "When an activity raises threats of harm to the
>environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if
>some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically."
>
>The 32 participants included treaty negotiators, activists, scholars and
>scientists from the United States, Canada and Europe. The conference was
>called to define and discuss implementing the precautionary principle, which
>has been used as the basis for a growing number of international agreements.
>
>The idea of precaution underpins some U.S. policy, such as the requirement for
>environmental impact statements before major projects are launched using
>federal funds. But most existing laws and regulations focus on cleaning up and
>controlling damage rather than preventing it. The group concluded that these
>policies do not sufficiently protect people and the natural world.
>
>Participants noted that current policies such as risk assessment and
>cost-benefit analysis give the benefit of the doubt to new products and
>technologies, which may later prove harmful.  And when damage occurs, victims
>and their advocates have the difficult task of proving that a product or
>activity was responsible.
>
>The precautionary principle shifts the burden of proof, insisting that those
>responsible for an activity must vouch for its harmlessness and be held
>responsible if damage occurs.
>
>The issues of scientific uncertainty, economics, environmental and public
>health protection which are embedded in the principle make this extremely
>complex.  We invite your thought and conversation on these topics.  Enclosed
>is a copy of the Wingspread Consensus Statement on the Precautionary
>Principle.
>
>The conference was convened by the Science and Environmental Health Network,
>an organization that links science with the public interest, and by the
>Johnson Foundation, the W. Alton Jones Foundation, the C.S. Fund and the
>Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of
>Massachusetts-Lowell.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Carolyn Raffensperger
>Science and Environmental Health Network
>***
>
>Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary Principle
>
>The release and use of toxic substances, the exploitation of resources, and
>physical alterations of the environment have had substantial unintended
>consequences affecting human health and the environment.  Some of these
>concerns are high rates of learning deficiencies, asthma, cancer, birth
>defects and species extinctions; along with global climate change,
>stratospheric ozone depletion and worldwide contamination with toxic
>substances and nuclear materials.
>
>We believe existing environmental regulations and other decisions,
>particularly those based on risk assessment, have failed to protect adequately
>human health and the environment - the larger system of which humans are but a
>part.
>
>We believe there is compelling evidence that damage to humans and the
>worldwide environment is of such magnitude and seriousness that new
>principles for conducting human activities are necessary.
>
>While we realize that human activities may involve hazards, people must
>proceed more carefully than has been the case in recent history.
>Corporations, government entities, organizations, communities, scientists and
>other individuals must adopt a precautionary approach to all human endeavors.
>
>Therefore, it is necessary to implement the Precautionary Principle:  When an
>activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment,
>precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect
>relationships are not fully established scientifically.
>
>In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should
>bear the burden of proof.
>
>The process of applying the Precautionary Principle must be open, informed and
>democratic and must include potentially affected parties.  It must also
>involve an examination of the full range of alternatives, including no action.
>
>
>Wingspread Participants:
>
>(Affiliations are noted for identification purposes only.)
>
>Dr. Nicholas Ashford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>Katherine Barrett, Univ. of British Columbia
>Anita Bernstein, Chicago-Kent College of Law
>Dr. Robert Costanza, University of Maryland
>Pat Costner, Greenpeace
>Dr. Carl Cranor, Univ. of California, Riverside
>Dr. Peter deFur, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.
>Gordon Durnil, attorney
>Dr. Kenneth Geiser, Toxics Use Reduction Institute, Univ. of Mass., Lowell
>Dr. Andrew Jordan, Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global
>Environment, Univ. Of East Anglia, United Kingdom
>Andrew King, United Steelworkers of America, Canadian Office, Toronto, Canada
>Dr. Frederick Kirschenmann, farmer
>Stephen Lester, Center for Health, Environment and Justice
>Sue Maret, Union Institute
>Dr. Michael M'Gonigle, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
>Dr. Peter Montague, Environmental Research Foundation
>Dr. John Peterson Myers, W. Alton Jones Foundation
>Dr. Mary O'Brien, environmental consultant
>Dr. David Ozonoff, Boston University
>Carolyn Raffensperger, Science and Environmental Health Network
>Dr. Philip Regal, University of Minnesota
>Hon. Pamela Resor, Massachusetts House of Representatives
>Florence Robinson, Louisiana Environmental Network
>Dr. Ted Schettler, Physicians for Social Responsibility
>Ted Smith, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
>Dr. Klaus-Richard Sperling, Alfred-Wegener- Institut, Hamburg, Germany
>Dr. Sandra Steingraber, author
>Diane Takvorian, Environmental Health Coalition
>Joel Tickner, University of Mass., Lowell
>Dr. Konrad von Moltke, Dartmouth College
>Dr. Bo Wahlstrom, KEMI (National Chemical Inspectorate), Sweden
>Jackie Warledo, Indigenous Environmental Network
>
>
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