Information Systems and the Environment
Information Systems and the Environment

Author: National Academy of Engineering

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-09-13

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 0309062438

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Information technology is a powerful tool for meeting environmental objectives and promoting sustainable development. This collection of papers by leaders in industry, government, and academia explores how information technology can improve environmental performance by individual firms, collaborations among firms, and collaborations among firms, government agencies, and academia. Information systems can also be used by nonprofit organizations and the government to inform the public about broad environmental issues and environmental conditions in their neighborhoods. Several papers address the challenges to information management posed by the explosive increase in information and knowledge about environmental issues and potential solutions, including determining what information is environmentally relevant and how it can be used in decision making. In addition, case studies are described and show how industry is using information systems to ensure sustainable development and meet environmental standards. The book also includes examples from the public sector showing how governments use information knowledge systems to disseminate "best practices" beyond big firms to small businesses, and from the world of the Internet showing how knowledge is shared among environmental advocates and the general public.

The Reality of Precaution
The Reality of Precaution

Author: James Hammit

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-05-13

Total Pages: 602

ISBN-13: 1136522557

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The 'Precautionary Principle' has sparked the central controversy over European and U.S. risk regulation. The Reality of Precaution is the most comprehensive study to go beyond precaution as an abstract principle and test its reality in practice. This groundbreaking resource combines detailed case studies of a wide array of risks to health, safety, environment and security; a broad quantitative analysis; and cross-cutting chapters on politics, law, and perceptions. The authors rebut the rhetoric of conflicting European and American approaches to risk, and show that the reality has been the selective application of precaution to particular risks on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as a constructive exchange of policy ideas toward 'better regulation.' The book offers a new view of precaution, regulatory reform, comparative analysis, and transatlantic relations.

Who Needs to Know? - The State of Public Access to Federal Government Information
Who Needs to Know? - The State of Public Access to Federal Government Information

Author: Patrice McDermott

Publisher: Bernan Press

Published: 2008-10-13

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1598883089

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Despite intense media scrutiny, only a small percentage of the American government's most essential information reaches the average person. This withholding of information is dangerous in a democratic society, where openness is a cherished value. Here are some samples of the topics included in Who Needs to Know?: The history, use, and abuse of national security classification; The state of the Freedom of Information Act in the Bush Administration; Examination of the concept of sensitive but unclassified and the proliferation of such markings to shut off access to information; The administration s suppression of government science and scientists and its impact on policy and on government employees; The manipulation of the media for both political and ideological reasons; Suggestions on how to connect and communicate with organizations and your elected officials to effect a positive change in the state of public access to federal government information. We the people need to understand how to interact with our government, engage in public policy decision-making, and hold the government (and those who act on its behalf or under its regulations) accountable for sharing information. Dr. McDermott provides historical context on this issue, along with expert insights and useful recommendations from her years at the forefront of the battle to protect the public s right to know.

Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data
Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 0309086647

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Reliable collections of science-based environmental information are vital for many groups of users and for a number of purposes. For example, electric utility companies predict demand during heat waves, structural engineers design buildings to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes, water managers monitor each winter's snow pack, and farmers plant and harvest crops based on daily weather predictions. Understanding the impact of human activities on climate, water, ecosystems, and species diversity, and assessing how natural systems may respond in the future are becoming increasingly important for public policy decisions. Environmental information systems gather factual information, transform it into information products, and distribute the products to users. Typical uses of the information require long-term consistency; hence the operation of the information system requires a long-term commitment from an institution, agency, or corporation. The need to keep costs down provides a strong motivation for creating multipurpose information systems that satisfy scientific, commercial and operational requirements, rather than systems that address narrow objectives. Resolving Conflicts Arising from the Privatization of Environmental Data focuses on such shared systems.

Private Sector Environmental Information and the Law
Private Sector Environmental Information and the Law

Author: Juliana Zuluaga Madrid

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-07-28

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1000915115

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Current advancements in civil rights and environmental activism emphasize the crucial importance of making environmental information widely available to the public, regardless of whether it is in the hands of the government or of corporations, especially when the information is needed to understand and prevent risks for human health and the environment. In the wake of a resurgence of environmental and civil rights activism, conflicts flare between the right of the people to know and the right of private actors to keep certain information hidden, mostly for commercial reasons. This book offers a detailed comparative analysis of how environmental information is being accessed in different countries and jurisdictions, and how these issues are currently being handled by judges and governments. Focusing on the right of access to environmental information held and produced by private actors and the legal issues that emerge when other values and rights are compromised, this book offers an alternative framework to improve on current legal systems, suggesting a more nuanced and balanced approach that takes both set of interests duly into consideration. Providing an integrated approach to public environmental law and private commercial law, the book integrates the arguments from both sides to establish a common ground, defining shared principles and models that provide a solid basis for a robust new system. Reviewing access to private sector information at a truly international level, this book will be relevant to students, academics and practitioners working in these areas.

Private Sector Environmental Information and the Law
Private Sector Environmental Information and the Law

Author: Juliana Zuluaga-Madrid

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781032310145

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Current advancements in civil rights and environmental activism emphasize the crucial importance of making environmental information widely available to the public, regardless of whether it is in the hands of the government or of corporations, especially when the information is needed to understand and prevent risks for human health and the environment. In the wake of a resurgence of environmental and civil rights activism, conflicts flare between the right of the people to know and the right of private actors to keep certain information hidden, mostly for commercial reasons. This book offers a detailed comparative analysis of how environmental information is being accessed in different countries and jurisdictions, and how these issues are currently being handled by judges and governments. Focusing on the right of access to environmental information held and produced by private actors and the legal issues that emerge when other values and rights are compromised, this book offers an alternative framework to improve on current legal systems, suggesting a more nuanced and balanced approach that takes both set of interests duly into consideration. Providing an integrated approach to public environmental law and private commercial law, the book integrates the arguments from both sides to establish a common ground, defining shared principles and models that provide a solid basis for a robust new system. Reviewing access to private sector information at a truly international level, this book will be relevant to students, academics and practitioners working in these areas"--