In times past the tenet of the Apocalypse underscored the operational folly of engaging in any application of the precautionary principle.

Since then, the so-called "precaution" has seen numerous, ample and occasionally joyous demonstrations. Perhaps the best among these is the episode of the H1N1 Swine flu epidemic.

 If the epidemic turned out to be less catastrophic than imagined, it was due less to measures taken by he Government, purchasing 10% of the world's stock of vaccines and one third of the world's capacity to produce Tamiflu, than to the low level of virulence of the virus, even though it is contagious. 

If the French population protects itself, the French themselves are scared. They believe that cancer is spreading, that modern life-style is very damaging, that the threat tomorrow will lie in the world of nanotechnologies. "Nature" is the ultimate rampart, while they protect themselves from this and indeed have never lived so well or so long.

Moreover, this precautionary 'unreason' distracts us and turns our attention away from the real environmental problems, such as destruction of the biodiversity or the need to gradually move away from fossil energy sources. As the humorist, Pierre Dac, once said "we can no longer afford to be afraid". Even little flames can burn you.

The sole aim of the book is to avoid getting burned collectively: strictly useless investments, inoperable regulations, and applications of precaution that serve no purpose whatsoever. The precautionary principle simply cannot ne "reasonable"; it is and remains an insult to our intelligence. 
 

Bionotes on the author

Jean de Kervasdoué is Professor at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers(CNAM), director of the Ecole Pasteur/Cnam (public health issues), Fellow of the NATF; he is by training an economist specialist of health questions and also an agronomist. he ha also authored numerous books among which, in French "Les Prêcheurs de l’apocalypse". 'The tenets of the Apocalypse', (Ed. Plon, 2007) and hundreds of papers published in the areas of health and the environment.