ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the several families of strategies for coping with the environmental side effects: one that involves granting rights to potential victims; and that emphasizes the role of public authorities in developing rules governing the actions of those whose activities may inflict harm on others; and that seeks alternatives to the focus on rights and rules. The use of this strategy requires a well-defined perpetrator, an easily identifiable victim, and a convincing causal narrative linking the actions of the perpetrator to the harm the victim has experienced. The growth of human populations, affluence, and technological capacity has increased interdependencies at all levels. Regulatory systems, with all their flaws and limitations, must become an increasingly important element in the tool kit available for dealing with such matters, and the resultant arrangements must be adapted for use in global settings where there is no government in the usual sense of the term.
