Shale gas extraction, precaution and prevention: A conversation on regulatory responses

Post-conventional energy futures: Rendering Europe's shale gas resources governable

“…The fossil fuel abundance narrative is produced and sustained because -each time a number of ambiguous estimates of potential supplies is generated -it opens new fields of possibilities for "the politics of nature" (Mitchell 2013, p. 252) and yields governing effects concerned particularly with securitization of unconventional hydrocarbon resources availability, consequently fuelling and legitimizing techno-political hopes for certain post-conventional energy futures. Hence, these novel forms of energy flow anticipation, inventorying and estimating are part of, as Bridge (2015) argues, the emerging "science of energy security" (p. 334) While this study is concerned with estimation and securitization of unconventional gas resources, the question of how to extract shale gas without disadvantaging the environment or the society (Fleming and Reins 2016;Sovacool 2014) calls for more research on other rationalities and technologies of governance spurred by the fracking frenzy in Europe.…”

How Business Interests and Government Inaction Led to the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster in South Korea: Implications for Better Risk Governance

“…Second, we argue that a precautionary intervention that acts to recognize a risk even without sufficient scientific evidence could greatly help public welfare and health, as well as keep sustainable environments secure (Aven, ; Fleming & Reins, ). In the new paradigm, as soon as receiving a warning sign, such as a disease, the government should ban the product or the chemical substance from the market, even if conclusive evidence is not yet available.…”

Energy, Resource Extraction and Society

“…Given the documented risks of fracking, and the signifi cant opposition to the industrial process by local communities, there is a compelling case to apply the precautionary principle ( Fleming and Reins, 2016 ) when developing a regulatory framework. The application of the precautionary principle would require a priori assumptions about risk and the potential for breach of human rights and environmental standards.…”