Environmental Valuation & Cost-Benefit News
Two Conceptions of Irreversible Environmental Harm
05/16/08
10:10:19 am, by damageva 
, 240 words, 95 views 
Categories: General, Legal, Fines, Academic Study/Journal Article, Theory, Regulatory Analysis, Research Institute NGO NonProfit, Environmental Economics / Ecological Economics, Costs and Benefits
Two Conceptions of Irreversible Environmental Harm
The concept of "irreversibility" plays a large role in the theory and practice of environmental protection. Indeed, the concept is explicit in some statements of the Precautionary Principle. But the idea of irreversibility remains poorly defined. Because time is linear, any loss is, in a sense, irreversible. On one approach, drawn from environmental economics, irreversibility might be understood as a reference to the value associated with taking precautionary steps that maintain flexibility for an uncertain future ("option value"). On another approach, drawn from environmental ethics, irreversibility might be understood to refer to the qualitatively distinctive nature of certain environmental harms – a point that raises a claim about incommensurability. The two conceptions fit different problems. For example, the idea of option value best fits the problem of climate change; the idea of qualitatively distinctive harms best fits the problem of extinction of endangered species. These ideas can be applied to a wide assortment of environmental problems.
by Cass R. Sunstein
http://www.reg-markets.org/admin/authorpdfs/page.php?id=1464
The AEI Center for Regulatory and Market Studies, The "Reg-Markets Center" www.reg-markets.org
The Center was founded by Bob Hahn in 2008 as the successor to the AEI-Brookings Joint Center. A primary aim of the Reg-Markets Center is to gain a deeper understanding of how markets, laws and regulation contribute to economic well-being. The Center will be an independent voice in policy debates.
min/authorpdfs/page.php?id=1464
Working Paper 08-16; May 2008
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