Session Information

2009 PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONFERENCE

Sustainability and Risk Assessment

Risks associated with habitat modification, biodiversity loss, existing and emergent diseases, emissions and waste from energy production, agricultural practices – and in general, the activities of being human in the 21^st century – are difficult, if not impossible to assess. From production to consumption – nothing is benign. Therefore, we must understand the risks and tradeoffs. To do so, we must measure costs associated with human activities and assess those costs over many generations. This panel will focus on risks associated with human decisions and how those risks are assessed.