Includes bibliographical references and index.

The role of environmental science in precautionary decision making / Joel A. Tickner -- Elements of the precautionary principle / Romeo F. Quijano -- A cautionary tale / Barry Commoner -- Ethics, science, and precaution: a view from Norway / Matthias Kaiser -- Science, human rights, and the precautionary principle in Honduras / Juan Almendares -- Fisheries and the precautionary principle / Boyce Thorne-Miller -- Risk, uncertainties, and precautions in chemical legislation / Finn Bro-Rasmussen -- Chemicals policy and the precautionary principle: the case of endocrine disruption / Joe Thornton -- Uncertainty and global climate change: the case of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease / Alistair Woodward -- The precautionary principle as a guide to environmental impact analysis: lessons learned from global warming / Donald A. Brown -- Certainty claimed: science and politics in Canadian GMO regulations / Katherine Barrett and Stuart Lee -- Uncertainty and biodiversity conservation / Reinmar Seidler and. Kamaljit Bawa -- Late lessons from early warnings: improving science and governance under uncertainty and ignorance / David Gee and Andrew Stirling -- Biodiversity conservation in developing countries: managing uncertainty in strategies and action plans to support precautionary action / Reginald Victor -- A living legacy: the precautionary ideal in American law / Sheila Jasanoff -- The precautionary principle in European community law and science / Theofanis Christoforou -- Precautionary assessment: a framework for integrating science, uncertainty, and preventive public policy / Joel A. Tickner -- Science in the service of good: the precautionary principle and positive goals / Mary O'Brien -- Toward sustainable chemistry / Terry Collins -- What could precautionary science be? Research for early warnings and a better future / Carl F. Cranor -- The children of the Yaqui Valley: precautionary science and communities / Elizabeth A. Guillette -- Science communication and precautionary policy: a marine case. study / Cato C. Ten Hallers-Tjabbes -- Whose scientific method? Scientific methods for a complex world / Richard Levins -- Precaution, environmental science, and preventative public policy / Joel A. Tickner -- Scientists and the real world / Lee Ketelsen. Presents a collection of essays that explore the role science has in developing a more precautionary approach to environmental and public health policies.