Download Preventology: Bring back prevention

Preventology: Bring back prevention
Mickey Glantz
Raw thoughts
Adages about prevention
• An once of prevention is worth a pound of
cure
• Look before you leap
• Better safe than sorry
• To be forewarned is to be forearmed
• A stitch in time saves nine
Why care about prevention?
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To reduce risk to foreseeable threats
To reduce exposure to threats
To avoid foreseeable problems
To work toward sustainability
a positive approach to coping with hazards
To minimize potential damage to life and property
Saves resources: people, income, property, assets, time
Protect public image
Protect people from harm
Prevent/reduce legal liability
Protect the environment
Prevention: the 3rd leg on a stool
• To cope wit hazards and talk about adaptation
and mitigation and not talk about prevention
is analogous to clapping with one hand.
Political responses to climate change
• The history climate change discussion
• Early 1980s US focus was on prevention, not
adaptation or mitigation
• Adaptation was seen as ‘giving up’
• Mitigation referred to softening the impacts of
extremes
• In mid 1980s there was a shift to adaptation and
mitigation because of realization that they could not
prevent global warming even if fossil fuel emissions
were halted today
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What’s in a word?
• The climate scientists have commandeered
the concepts of adaptation and mitigation
• These are presented as the only 2 options
with no mention of prevention
Prevention is the first step to a
better future
• Cannot prevent what has been emitted till
now but can prevent new activities from
contributing to the existing problems.
“Damnages” = known adverse impacts
that are allowed to take place
• Preventing also works hand in hand with
adaptation and mitigation In a few ways:
• We can focus on preventing the ripple effects
of an impact of adaptation or mitigation.
• Prevention is the 3rd leg of the tripod along
with adaptation and mitigation
• Prevent collateral damage
Can there be a culture of
prevention?
Can there be a sub-field of
prevention?
• Prevention is more than just an early warning
of a threat or a hazard