Part II
Anyone familiar with environmental or international law knows its limitations. While international environmental regulation is logical given the global nature of the problem, its efficacy is limited. The same is true of economic and technical approaches. Economic methods like emissions credits trading are imperfect. Nor can the dominant “technocratic paradigm” solve the world’s environmental problems. Technical approaches such as recycling are necessary, yet prone to criticism as economically unjustified. While addressing the food supply problem through biotechnology has arguably saved millions of lives, the risks of unintended consequences, as well as of crossing ethical boundaries, must not be ignored. Similiarly, nuclear energy is an obviously perilous alternative to hydrocarbons.