Access to information and sustainable development: Friend or foe?

International Journal of Environment and Pollution

Volumn 11, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 55-70

  Barrera Hernández, Lila K ^a  

^a NONE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; LAWS AND LEGISLATION; TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER;

INDUSTRIAL INFORMATION;

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT;

EID: 0345009014     PISSN: 09574352     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.1999.002249     Document Type: Article

References (91)

1. Brundtland, G.H. (1992) 'The road from Rio', in Burke, T., Knight, P. and Brandon, W. (Editors) Environment Strategy Europe 1992, Campden Publishing Ltd., Hong Kong, p. 103.
2. Paradigm is defined by Dennis Pirages and Paul Ehrlich as 'the collection of norms, beliefs, values and habits that form the world view most commonly held within a culture.' It is 'a mental image of social reality that guides behaviour and expectations.' Pirages, D. and Ehrlich, P. (1974) Ark II: Social Responses to Environmental Imperatives, W.H. Freeman, San Francisco: quoted in Barbour, I.G. Technology Environment and Human Values, Praeger Publishers, New York, p. 310.
3. Paradigm is defined by Dennis Pirages and Paul Ehrlich as 'the collection of norms, beliefs, values and habits that form the world view most commonly held within a culture.' It is 'a mental image of social reality that guides behaviour and expectations.' Pirages, D. and Ehrlich, P. (1974) Ark II: Social Responses to Environmental Imperatives, W.H. Freeman, San Francisco: quoted in Barbour, I.G. Technology Environment and Human Values, Praeger Publishers, New York, p. 310.
4. Paradigm is defined by Dennis Pirages and Paul Ehrlich as 'the collection of norms, beliefs, values and habits that form the world view most commonly held within a culture.' It is 'a mental image of social reality that guides behaviour and expectations.' Pirages, D. and Ehrlich, P. (1974) Ark II: Social Responses to Environmental Imperatives, W.H. Freeman, San Francisco: quoted in Barbour, I.G. Technology Environment and Human Values, Praeger Publishers, New York, p. 310.
5. Sitarz, D. (1994) Agenda 21, The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet, Earth Press, Boulder; Lomas, O. and McEldowney, J. (Editors) (1991) Frontiers of Environmental Law, Chancery Law Publications Ltd., London.
6. Sitarz, D. (1994) Agenda 21, The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet, Earth Press, Boulder; Lomas, O. and McEldowney, J. (Editors) (1991) Frontiers of Environmental Law, Chancery Law Publications Ltd., London.
7. Bellamy, D. (1993) 'Business and a sustainable future', in Vaitilingam, R. (Editor) Industrial Initiatives for Environmental Conservation, Pitman Publishing, London, p. 34. It should be noted that the term 'information' is here taken to mean 'the organization of knowledge for achievement of practical purposes', as opposed to the machines and tools that constitute the hardware of technology.
8. In this sense, the term will be used interchangeably with the term 'knowledge' and also with the term 'technology'. Mesthene, E. (1970) Technological Change: Its Impact on Man and Society, American Library, New York, p. 25, quoted in Barbour, I.G., ref. 2. p. 35.
9. Saunders, J.O. (1990) 'The path to sustainable development: a role for law', in Saunders, J.O. (Editor) The Legal Challenges of Sustainable Development, Canadian Institute of Resources Law, Calgary, Canada, p. 1.
10. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 'Chairman's Foreword', pt. ix [hereinafter cited as WCED].
11. Schmidheiny, S. (1992) Business Council for Sustainable Development, Changing Course, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, p. 8.
12. Globe '92, International Trade Fair and Conference, Sadler, B. 'Instruments of change for sustainability: an agenda for business and the environment', in ref. 1, p. 65.
13. The Commission's report also allows for a slight increase in the level of production of goods in the developed world as a means to arrive at a more equitable distribution of wealth among first world populations. WCED at p. 51.
14. Ref. 6, pp. 40, 51, 52, 65, 87, 177, 195, 215, 217 and 311; also ref. 7, p. 15. This interpretation provides a good counter argument to that which says that the Report puts too much emphasis on growth to the detriment of environmental protection.
15. Sitarz, D. ref. 3, p. 279; Vaitilingam, R. ref. 4.
16. Sitarz, D. ref. 3, p. 279; Vaitilingam, R. ref. 4.
17. See e.g. Wynne, R.D. (1991) 'Defining green: toward regulation of environmental marketing claims', U.Mich. J.L., Vol. 24, p. 785, (citing the Gallup Report, June 1989, where 76% Americans appear as considering themselves environmentalists); Barrera-Hernández, L., 'Consumer behaviour and the environment', J.E.L.P., Vol. 5, p. 161.
18. See e.g. Wynne, R.D. (1991) 'Defining green: toward regulation of environmental marketing claims', U.Mich. J.L., Vol. 24, p. 785, (citing the Gallup Report, June 1989, where 76% Americans appear as considering themselves environmentalists); Barrera-Hernández, L., 'Consumer behaviour and the environment', J.E.L.P., Vol. 5, p. 161.
19. In 1994, Statistics Canada reported that only 15% of the population always considers environmental issues when food shopping, while in the US levels of 'green consumerism' declined from 25% to 20% for the period 1992 to 1993. Similar discrepancies among attitudes and behaviours can be observed across communities and in other areas of individual activity, such as commuting and waste patterns, energy and water consumption, etc. Barrera-Hernández, L., ref. 12.
20. Another instance of information-related control that has been legally implemented in the United States [Securities Exchange Commission, Item 103, Regulation S-K, 17 C.F.R.s 229.103 (1986); Securities Act, 15 U.S.C., ss. 77a-77aa (1982); Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C., ss. 78a-78kk (1982)] and has lately been endorsed by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants [Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Directive 1994] is the requirement for disclosure of environmental liabilities in the financial statements of public companies. This disclosure obligation acts as a deterrence factor in so far as it impacts the companies' stock prices and their ability to attract new capital. Sten M.J., 'The significance of environmental actions on company stock prices', address to the EMAR Conference on Environmental Reporting, Vancouver, December 1 & 2, 1994 (unpublished).
21. The NPRI was established in 1993 under section 16(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), R.S.C. 1985, c. C-16 (4th Supp).
22. COM (93) 423 Final.
23. Branscomb, L.M., (1971) 'Taming technology', Science, Vol. 171, p. 972; Barbour, I.G., ref. 2, pp. 49-50.
24. Branscomb, L.M., (1971) 'Taming technology', Science, Vol. 171, p. 972; Barbour, I.G., ref. 2, pp. 49-50.
25. Branscomb, L.M., ref. 17; Barbour, I.G. ref. 2, p. 53.
26. Branscomb, L.M., ref. 17; Barbour, I.G. ref. 2, p. 53.
27. OECD (1991) Technology in a Changing World, OECD, Paris, p. 22.
28. Branscomb, L.M. ref. 17, p. 972.
29. Pollis, C.A. (1972) 'The environmental issues: basis for a new genre of revolution', in Khare, R.S., Kolka, J.W. and Pollis, C.A. (Editors) Environmental Quality and Social Responsibility, The University of Wisconsin, p. 137; Branscomb, L.M., ref. 17, p. 28.
30. For an account on this position see generally Barbour, G., ref. 2. See also Pollis, C.A., ref. 21, p. 138.
31. For an account on this position see generally Barbour, G., ref. 2. See also Pollis, C.A., ref. 21, p. 138.
32. Bellamy, D., ref. 4, p. 39.
33. Barbour, I.G., ref. 2, p. 8.
34. Horowitz, I.L. (1972) 'The environmental cleavage: social ecology vs. political economy', in Khare, R.S., Kolka, J.W. and Pollis, C.A., ref. 21, p. 129.
35. Schmidheiny, S. 'How to become eco-efficient', ref. 1, p. 31. See also ref. 7, p. 9.
36. See generally Carson, P. and Moulden, J. (1991) Green is Gold, Business Talking to Business About the Environmental Revolution, Harper Business, Toronto; Rappaport, A. and Flaherty, M.F. (1992) Corporate Responses to Environmental Challenges, Quorum Books, New York, ref. 1.
37. See generally Carson, P. and Moulden, J. (1991) Green is Gold, Business Talking to Business About the Environmental Revolution, Harper Business, Toronto; Rappaport, A. and Flaherty, M.F. (1992) Corporate Responses to Environmental Challenges, Quorum Books, New York, ref. 1.
38. Sitarz, D., ref. 3, p. 257.
39. See the definition of sustainable development in ref. 6, p. 43.
40. Stevenson, R.B. (1980) Corporations and Information, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, p. 137.
41. Casey, W.A., Jr., Marthinsen, J.E. and Moss, L.S. (1983) Entrepreneurship, Productivity and the Freedom of Information Act, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA, p. 116; Arrow, K.J., 'Limited knowledge and economic analysis', in Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow, Vol. 4: The Economics of Information (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press for Harvard University Press, 1984) p. 153.
42. Casey, W.A., Jr., Marthinsen, J.E. and Moss, L.S. (1983) Entrepreneurship, Productivity and the Freedom of Information Act, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA, p. 116; Arrow, K.J., 'Limited knowledge and economic analysis', in Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow, Vol. 4: The Economics of Information (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press for Harvard University Press, 1984) p. 153.
43. Casey, W.A., Jr., Marthinsen, J.E. and Moss, L.S. (1983) Entrepreneurship, Productivity and the Freedom of Information Act, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA, p. 116; Arrow, K.J., 'Limited knowledge and economic analysis', in Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow, Vol. 4: The Economics of Information (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press for Harvard University Press, 1984) p. 153.
44. Arrow, K.J., 'On the agenda of organizations', ref. 31, p. 168.
45. Freeman, A.M., III, Haveman, R.A. and Kneese, A.V. (1984) The Economics of Environmental Policy, Robert E. Krieger Publishing Co., Malabar, FL., p. 24.
46. Globe '92, International Trade Fair and Conference, Sadler, B. Instruments of Change for Sustainability, in ref. 1, p. 65; Minasian, J.R. (1962) 'The economics of research and development', in National Bureau of Economic Research, New York, The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, Princeton University Press, p. 95; Casey, W.A., et al., ref. 31.
47. Globe '92, International Trade Fair and Conference, Sadler, B. Instruments of Change for Sustainability, in ref. 1, p. 65; Minasian, J.R. (1962) 'The economics of research and development', in National Bureau of Economic Research, New York, The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, Princeton University Press, p. 95; Casey, W.A., et al., ref. 31.
48. Globe '92, International Trade Fair and Conference, Sadler, B. Instruments of Change for Sustainability, in ref. 1, p. 65; Minasian, J.R. (1962) 'The economics of research and development', in National Bureau of Economic Research, New York, The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, Princeton University Press, p. 95; Casey, W.A., et al., ref. 31.
49. Ref. 19, p. 17. See also Arrow, K.J., ref. 32.
50. Sir Isaac Newton is quoted as having said: 'If I have seen far, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants'.
51. Casey, W.A. et al., ref. 31, p. 37; Hampson, C., 'Perspectives from industry', in Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 39.
52. Casey, W.A. et al., ref. 31, p. 37; Hampson, C., 'Perspectives from industry', in Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 39.
53. See generally Casey, W.A., et al., ref. 31; National Bureau of Economic Research, New York, The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, Princeton University Press, 1962.
54. Mansfield, E. (1982) Technology Transfer, Productivity and Economic Policy, W.W. Norton & Co., New York, p. 133.
55. Moss, L. (1991) 'The Chicago intellectual property rights tradition and the reconciliation of Coase and Hayek', xvii; 2 Eastern Economic J., Vol. xvii, No. 2, p. 145.
56. Demsetz, H. (1969) 'Information and efficiency: another viewpoint', xii; 2 J. Law and Economics, Vol. xii, No. 2 p. 1; Cheung, L.N.S. (1982) 'Property rights and trade secrets', Economic Inquiry, Vol. xx, p. 40; Casey, W.S., ref. 31. p. 37.
57. Demsetz, H. (1969) 'Information and efficiency: another viewpoint', xii; 2 J. Law and Economics, Vol. xii, No. 2 p. 1; Cheung, L.N.S. (1982) 'Property rights and trade secrets', Economic Inquiry, Vol. xx, p. 40; Casey, W.S., ref. 31. p. 37.
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59. Crandall, R.W. (1983) Controlling Industrial Pollution. The Economics and Politics of Clean Air, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., p. 3. Of course, if no economic considerations are brought to bear, the efficiency argument loses ground to the protectionist argument. That is, that any amount of protection is beneficial no matter how disproportionate its cost. However, impoverished economies end by having a negative impact on the environment.
60. For a good example see Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 106. See also Freeman, A.M., ref. 33, p. 102. Sadler, B., ref. 34; Freeman, A.M., ref. 33, pp. 26, 102.
61. For a good example see Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 106. See also Freeman, A.M., ref. 33, p. 102. Sadler, B., ref. 34; Freeman, A.M., ref. 33, pp. 26, 102.
62. Sadler, B., ref. 34; Freeman, A.M., ref. 33, pp. 26, 102.
63. Moret, M. 'Industry view', in ref. 1, p. 19. The idea of implementing 'technology forcing standards' has also been suggested as a means to achieve increased improvement in terms of pollution control. However, recent experience with this method has led some authors to conclude that 'by setting impossible goals, or what are seen as impossible goals that have to be achieved tomorrow, the industry puts its energy into fighting the regulations'. Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 63; Cairncross, F. (1992) 'UNCED, Environment and Beyond', Fall & Winter Columbia J. World Business, Vol. 13, p. 17 (citing the example of California's Zero Emissions legislation. See also Gollin, M.A. (1991) 'Using intellectual property to improve environmental protection', Harvard J. Law and Technology, Vol. 4, p. 183.
64. Moret, M. 'Industry view', in ref. 1, p. 19. The idea of implementing 'technology forcing standards' has also been suggested as a means to achieve increased improvement in terms of pollution control. However, recent experience with this method has led some authors to conclude that 'by setting impossible goals, or what are seen as impossible goals that have to be achieved tomorrow, the industry puts its energy into fighting the regulations'. Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 63; Cairncross, F. (1992) 'UNCED, Environment and Beyond', Fall & Winter Columbia J. World Business, Vol. 13, p. 17 (citing the example of California's Zero Emissions legislation. See also Gollin, M.A. (1991) 'Using intellectual property to improve environmental protection', Harvard J. Law and Technology, Vol. 4, p. 183.
65. Moret, M. 'Industry view', in ref. 1, p. 19. The idea of implementing 'technology forcing standards' has also been suggested as a means to achieve increased improvement in terms of pollution control. However, recent experience with this method has led some authors to conclude that 'by setting impossible goals, or what are seen as impossible goals that have to be achieved tomorrow, the industry puts its energy into fighting the regulations'. Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 63; Cairncross, F. (1992) 'UNCED, Environment and Beyond', Fall & Winter Columbia J. World Business, Vol. 13, p. 17 (citing the example of California's Zero Emissions legislation. See also Gollin, M.A. (1991) 'Using intellectual property to improve environmental protection', Harvard J. Law and Technology, Vol. 4, p. 183.
66. Moret, M. 'Industry view', in ref. 1, p. 19. The idea of implementing 'technology forcing standards' has also been suggested as a means to achieve increased improvement in terms of pollution control. However, recent experience with this method has led some authors to conclude that 'by setting impossible goals, or what are seen as impossible goals that have to be achieved tomorrow, the industry puts its energy into fighting the regulations'. Vaitilingam, R., ref. 4, p. 63; Cairncross, F. (1992) 'UNCED, Environment and Beyond', Fall & Winter Columbia J. World Business, Vol. 13, p. 17 (citing the example of California's Zero Emissions legislation. See also Gollin, M.A. (1991) 'Using intellectual property to improve environmental protection', Harvard J. Law and Technology, Vol. 4, p. 183.
67. Cheung, S.N.S., ref. 42.
68. Gilard, B. and Gilard, T. (1988) The Business Intelligence System, AMACOM, New York; Montgomery, C.A. and Porter, M.E. (Editors) (1991) Strategy, Harvard Business Review, Boston, MA.
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71. quoted in Casey, W.A., ref. 31, p. 154.
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76. 9182/88 (COM (88)484) cited in United Kingdom, HL Paper 2, Select Committee on the European Communities (1989) Freedom of Access to Information on the Environment, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, pp. 5,6.
77. ECE/CEP/43, 21 April 1998; http://www.mem.dk/aarhus-conference/issues/public-participation/ppartikler.htm
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85. Abramson, S.H. (1986) 'Confidential business information versus the public's right to disclosure: biotechnology renews the challenge', Kansas Law Review, Vol. 34, p. 681.
86. Note that while, for example, in the USA there is generalized consensus on the property status of confidential information, that is not the case in other developed countries, such as Canada.
87. Connelly, M.Q. (1981) 'Secrets and smokescreens: a legal and economic analysis of government disclosures of business data', Wisconsin Law Review, p. 207.
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91. (OECD) Economic Instruments for Environmental Protection, OECD, Paris, 1989.