Editing Precautionary principle (section)

==Origins and theory==
The concept "precautionary principle" is generally considered to have arisen in English from a translation of the German term ''[[:de:Vorsorgeprinzip|Vorsorgeprinzip]]'' in the 1970s in response to [[forest degradation]] and [[Marine pollution|sea pollution]], where German lawmakers adopted clean air act banning use of certain substances suspected in causing the environmental damage even though evidence of their impact was inconclusive at that time.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Brand|first=Stewart|title=Whole Earth Discipline|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2010|isbn=9780143118282}}</ref> The concept was introduced into environmental legislation along with other innovative (at that time) mechanisms such as "polluter pays", principle of pollution prevention and responsibility for survival of future ecosystems.<ref name=":4" />

The precautionary principle was promulgated in philosophy by [[Hans Jonas]] in his 1979 text, ''The Imperative of Responsibility'', wherein Jonas argued that technology had altered the range of the impact of human action and, as such, ethics must be modified so that the far distant effects of one's actions should now be considered.  His maxim is designed to embody the precautionary principle in its prescription that one should "Act so that the effects of your action are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life" or, stated conversely, "Do not compromise the conditions for an indefinite continuation of humanity on earth."<ref>Jonas, H. (1984). The imperative of responsibility: In search of an ethics for the technological age. University of Chicago press.</ref> To achieve this Jonas argued for the cultivation of a cautious attitude toward actions that may endanger the future of humanity or the biosphere that supported it.

In 1988, Konrad von Moltke described the German concept for a British audience, which he translated into English as the precautionary principle.<ref name="Christiansen">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4vjoqgeaIMC|title=Interpreting the Precautionary Principle|last=Christiansen|first=Sonja Boehmer|chapter=Chapter 2: The Precautionary Principle in Germany: Enabling Government|editor1-last=O'Riordan|editor1-first=Tim|editor2-last=Cameron|editor2-first=James|date=1994|publisher=Earthscan Publications Ltd|isbn=1134165781|via=Google Books}}</ref>{{rp|31}}

In economics, the Precautionary Principle has been analyzed in terms of "the effect on rational decision-making", of "the interaction of [[irreversibility]]" and "[[uncertainty]]". Authors such as Epstein (1980)<ref>{{cite journal|last=Epstein|first=L.G.|title=Decision-making and the temporal resolution of uncertainty|jstor=2526180|doi=10.2307/2526180|journal=International Economic Review|volume=21|issue=2|pages=269–283|year=1980}}</ref> and [[Kenneth Arrow|Arrow]] and Fischer (1974)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Arrow|first1=K.J.|last2=Fischer|first2=A.C.|title=Environmental preservation, uncertainty and irreversibility|jstor=1883074|doi=10.2307/1883074|journal=Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=88|issue=2|pages=312–9|year=1974}}</ref> show that "irreversibility of possible future consequences" creates a "quasi-[[Option (finance)|option]] effect" which should induce a "[[risk]]-neutral" society to favour current decisions that allow for more flexibility in the future. Gollier et al. conclude that "more scientific uncertainty as to the distribution of a future risk – that is, a larger variability of beliefs – should induce society to take stronger prevention measures today."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gollier|first1=Christian|last2=Jullien|first2=Bruno|last3=Treich|first3=Nicolas|title=Scientific Progress and Irreversibility: An Economic Interpretation of the 'Precautionary Principle'|journal=Journal of Public Economics|volume=75|issue=2|pages=229–253|year=2000|doi=10.1016/S0047-2727(99)00052-3}}</ref>

The principle was also derived from religious beliefs that particular areas of science and technology should be restricted as they "belong to the realm of God", as postulated by [[Charles, Prince of Wales|Prince Charles]] and [[Pope Benedict XVI]].<ref name=":5" />