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5 - The Limits to Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2019

Esther Turnhout
Affiliation:
Wageningen Universiteit, The Netherlands
Willemijn Tuinstra
Affiliation:
Open Universiteit
Willem Halffman
Affiliation:
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
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Summary

This chapter deals with the limits to our knowledge. In spite of our high expectations of science for the solution of environmental problems, scientific results are fringed with uncertainties. Measurement equipment always has a limited precision, even though it is continuously improving; shifting oil prices make it difficult to assess the cost-effectiveness of alternative energy sources; unpredictable human behaviour might off-set potential ingenious technical solutions; and so on. We show the differences between risk and uncertainty and provide you with the conceptual tools to distinguish different types of risk and uncertainty. We also describe the consequences of uncertainty for environmental policy and of the social response to uncertainty in environmental knowledgeThis will provide you with the tools to recognise forms of uncertainty, to recognise typical reactions, and to understand strategies and debates addressing uncertainty and risk.
Type
Chapter
Information
Environmental Expertise
Connecting Science, Policy and Society
, pp. 104 - 116
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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References

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