The Bay Area Working Group (BAWG) on the Precautionary Principle is a diverse collaborative of individuals and organizations who are dedicated to protecting health and the environment. We recognize that fundamental changes in decision-making need to happen in order to build healthier, more just, and sustainable communities.

The seeds of the BAWG were planted in 1999, when a few environmental health and environmental justice advocates came together with the vision of implementing the precautionary principle in the Bay Area. Coming from various advocacy communities, such as breast and other cancers, and environmental justice and health, the group believed that it was time for a fundamental shift in the way environmental health decisions and policy were made. The founding members of the BAWG recognized the precautionary principle as a tool to go upstream to the sources of pollution in order to prevent harm before it happens.

The BAWG soon grew to include other individuals and organizations committed to advocating for precautionary action to protect public health. We built momentum and a broad base of support for the precautionary principle by connecting with labor organizations, socially-responsible businesses, health care providers, breast cancer activists, and environmental organizations.

Our first major victory was the passage of a Precautionary Principle Resolution in San Francisco on March 4th of 2003, which was co-sponsored by 10 of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The resolution set the stage for the passage of an ordinance on June 17th, 2003 which pulls together San Francisco's existing precautionary-based laws, including an arsenic-treated wood ordinance, an Integrated Pest Management plan, a healthy air ordinance, and a pilot Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, and codifies them as an Environment Code. Chapter one of the Environment Code is a statement mandating the adoption of the precautionary principle throughout the city and county of San Francisco.

While our San Francisco efforts moved forward, the BAWG was building momentum around the precautionary principle in Berkeley. On October 14th, 2003, we celebrated another success when the Berkeley City Council passed a Precautionary Principle Resolution by an 8-1 vote. The Resolution mandates that City staff develop a precautionary principle ordinance and an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program within one year.

The BAWG hopes that what is learned while doing this groundbreaking and exciting work will be useful to other individuals and organizations as they work to put the precautionary principle into action in their own communities.

 

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