GS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Plastics Industry, Precautionary Principle, Junk Science
Document Summary
Gs101 lecture 15: initiated by the south. Plastic plague: plastics industry uses about 6% of global oil production. If trends stay the same this will increase to 20% by mid-century o by 2050 plastics in the ocean will outweigh all the fish. Principle or tool/ approach: the precautionary principle (if not seen as merely a tool) does much more than ratchet up widely held expectations of how to handle environmental risk. It raises profound philosophical questions about the very nature of good governance: 5 key aspects of the pp as a principle. Socialized planning and heavy state influence: progressive states, recognition of the uniqueness of our times, responsibilities attached to capabilities, de-ontological responsibility principle, need for socialized planning to halt the freedom of the anti-ethical market. Forward-looking, active, and participatory measures to avoid harm: common foundation/ ethical trump card, increased regulation, whole life cycle of a product, unknown consequences.
