The Precautionary Principle
Engineering
For a Living Planet
Bill Vitek
Clarkson University
June 6, 2008
OUTLINE
The Emerging Ecospheric Paradigm
The Precautionary Principle
The Precautionary Principle and the
Engineering Code of Ethics
21st Century Engineering
– Ecospheric
– Precautionary
– Visionary
Presentation Objectives
Introduce the Precautionary Principle
as a new and powerful alternative to
risk management.
Connect the Precautionary Principle to
the core principles of the NSPE’s Code
of Ethics for Engineers.
Presentation Objectives
Facilitate a dialogue among workshop
participants on the viability of
integrating the Precautionary Principle
into the Code of Ethics as a
“Fundamental Canon.
Demonstrate the value of such
dialogues in ethical and professional
development.
What is Engineering?
“Engineering…is the direction of the sources
of the power of nature for the use and
convenience of man. It is the link, the
bridge between man and nature; a bridge
over which man passes into nature to
control it, guide it, understand it, and the
bridge over which nature and its forces pass
to get into man’s field of interest and
service”
Nicholas Murray Butler, Nobel Laureate and President of
Columbia University, 1901-1945
Engineering Assumptions
Mind-Reality Interface
Knowledge is Possible
Knowledge is Power
Divide and Conquer
Nature is Passive
The Whole is Equal to the Sum of its
Parts
Assumptions Continued
Technical and Scientific Knowledge are
Value Free
All Mistakes are Fixable
“Cross that bridge when we come to it”
Knowledge accumulates and drives out
ignorance
What is Engineering?
“Engineering is the art of modeling
materials we do not wholly understand,
into shapes we cannot precisely
analyze so as to withstand forces we
cannot properly assess, in such a way
that the public has no reason to
suspect the extent of our ignorance.”
A.R. Dyes, British Institution of Structural Engineers, 1976
Assumptions Challenged
Nature is not passive
Whole not equal to the sum of the parts
Knowledge is not value free
Ignorance increases with increased
knowledge
Some mistakes are less fixable than others
Greater Knowledge=Greater Responsibility
Engineering and Environmentalism
Sources: 1880’s-1940’s
– Conservation
Sinks: 1950’s-1980’s
– Pollution Control
Systems: 1990’s-Present
– Sustainability
– Life Cycle Analysis
– Industrial Ecology
An Ecospheric Ethos
Engineering* is a tool for living
well in the world.
This world is alive,
interconnected and crowded.
The tool is limited by ethics,
ignorance, and the net primary
production of ecosystems.
* Or science, politics, economics, etc.
21st Century
Professional Engineers
Green Engineering Principles
The Earth as a living system
Precautionary
The Precautionary Principle
History
– Hippocrates (5th Century BCE): “Do
No Harm”
– Public Health
– Germany in 1970’s:
“Vorsorgenprinzip” or “Forecaring
Principle”
The Precautionary Principle
Definition from 1992 Rio Conference
"In order to protect the environment,
the precautionary approach shall be
widely applied by States according to
their capabilities. Where there are
threats of serious or irreversible
damage, full scientific certainty shall
not be used as a reason for
postponing cost-effective measures
to prevent environmental
degradation."
Ref: http://habitat.igc.org/agenda21/rio-dec.html
Principles
People have a duty to take anticipatory
action to prevent harm. "If you have a
reasonable suspicion that something bad
might be going to happen, you have an
obligation to try to stop it.”
The burden of proof of harmlessness of a
new technology, process, activity, or
chemical lies with the proponents, not
with the general public.
Source: http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0398/et0398s4.html
Principles
Before using a new technology, process,
or chemical, or starting a new activity,
people have an obligation to examine "a
full range of alternatives" including the
alternative of doing nothing.
Decisions applying the precautionary
principle must be "open, informed, and
democratic" and "must include affected
parties."
Source: http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0398/et0398s4.html
Applications
Explore alternatives to possibly harmful
actions, especially “clean” technologies
that eliminate waste and toxic substances
Set and work toward goals that protect
health and the environment
Bring democracy and transparency to
decisions affecting health and the
environment.
http://www.sehn.org/ppfaqs.html
The Precautionary Principle
In action
– EPA and OSHA in 1970’s
– Canada: Federal Policy (2003)
– Quebec Pesticide Laws (2002)
– American Public Health Association
endorsement (2000)
– Mendocino County begins precautionary
principle pilot programs (2007)
The Precautionary Principle
In action
– Principles for the Oversight of
Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials
(2007)
– U.S. Green Building Council's Guiding
Principles Include Precaution (2007)
– Portland: Local Governments Adopt Toxics
Reduction Strategy using the
Precautionary Principle (2006)
The Precautionary Principle
In action
– The Berkeley City Council passed its
Precautionary Principle Ordinance (2006)
– Dell's Chemical Use Policy Precautionary
(1999)
– New Mexico Legislature Urges the
Adoption of the Precautionary Principle for
State Departments
2005
The Precautionary Principle
In action
– Maastricht Treaty on the European Union,
Title XVI (1994)
Many cities and a few states now
take a precautionary approach to
pest management in schools,
playgrounds, parks, and public
buildings. They have passed laws
and regulations specifying that
chemicals will be used only as a
last resort, after all other
alternatives have been tried.
From: Peter Montague, “A Better World is Possible”
The Supreme Court of Hawaii has
ruled that the state must manage
Hawaii's water resources using the
precautionary principle, aiming to
avoid harm to the resource, which
the state holds in trust for present
and future generations of Hawaiians.
From: Peter Montague, “A Better World is Possible”
Many nations (and a few states in
the U.S.) have adopted a
precautionary approach to the
management of fisheries, to avoid
harm from overfishing, habitat
destruction, and pollution.
From: Peter Montague, “A Better World is Possible”
The City and County of San
Francisco have adopted
precaution as overarching
governmental policy,
guiding all their decisions
From: Peter Montague, “A Better World is Possible”
Several towns in rural Pennsylvania
have taken a precautionary
approach to local public health and
corporate power: they have passed
local laws prohibiting corporations
from farming, mining, and putting
sewage sludge on land, among
other things.
From: Peter Montague, “A Better World is Possible”
Eight Kinds of Precautionary Action
• Set goals
• Monitor
• Heed early warnings (be prepared
to act on results of monitoring)
• Consider all the evidence
From: Peter Montague, “A Better World is Possible”
Eight Kinds of Precautionary Action
• Engage the affected people in
decisions
• Evaluate all reasonable alternatives
• Give the benefit of the doubt to
nature and public health (reverse
the burden of proof)
• Monitor (again!)
From: Peter Montague, “A Better World is Possible”
The PP Applies When
There exist considerable scientific
uncertainties.
There exist scenarios (or models) of
possible harm that are scientifically
reasonable (that is based on some
scientifically plausible reasoning).
Uncertainties cannot be reduced in the
short term without at the same time
increasing ignorance of other relevant
factors by higher levels of abstraction and
idealization.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001395/139578e.pdf
The PP Applies When
The potential harm is sufficiently
serious or even irreversible for present
or future generations or otherwise
morally unacceptable.
There is a need to act now, since
effective counteraction later will be
made significantly more difficult or
costly at any later time.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001395/139578e.pdf
Historical Examples of the
Precautionary Principle
Food safety (carcinogenic additives)
– The Delaney Clause in the Food, Drug and
Cosmetics Act, 1957–96, which banned animal
carcinogens from the human food chain
Food safety (BSE)
– A ban on the use of scrapie-infected sheep and
goat meat in the animal and human food chain in
the early 1970s which may have helped the United
States to avoid BSE
Historical Examples of the
Precautionary Principle
Environmental safety (CFCs)
– A ban on the use of chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) in aerosols in 1977, several years
before similar action in most of Europe
Public health (DES)
– A ban on the use of DES as a growth
promoter in beef, 1972–79, nearly 10 years
before the EU ban
Precautionary Warnings Unheeded
Fisheries
Radiation
Lead
Benzene
Asbestos
PCB’s
Halocarbons (CFC’s)
DES
Antimicrobials (antibiotics)
SO2
MTBE
http://reports.eea.europa.eu/environmental_issue_report_2001_22/en
Discussion
– Participants will be asked to discuss the
relevance of the precautionary principle to
their work as professional engineers.
Segment Five
The Precautionary Principle and the
Engineering Code of Ethics
– This final 20 minute segment will connect
the Precautionary Principle to the NSPE
Code of Ethics.
Engineering and Precaution
Safety Factor
Risk Management
Code of Ethics
Why these are no longer enough….
PP and NSPE Code of Ethics
Parallels
PP as a Fundamental Canon
Consistent with “No Harm” Principle
Consistent with emergent ecospheric
perspective
An engineering leadership perspective
A necessary perspective
Discussion
Should the NSPE include the Precautionary
Principle in its Fundamental Canons?
How would the Precautionary Principle function
as a guide to the working engineer?
On what moral grounds can the engineer utilize
the Precautionary Principle in her or his
professional practice?
Conclusion
Engineering has traditionally been an
leader in effecting cultural change.
We are at a moment of cultural change.
The emerging ecospheric paradigm
requires a change in engineering
practice.
Conclusion
The Precautionary Principle is an important
tool in effecting this change.
The Precautionary Principle is consistent
with the engineering professions
commitment to safety.
The Precautionary Principle should be
considered as a Fundamental Canon in the
NSPE Code of Ethics.