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Green (Environmental Crime) - Coggle Diagram
Green (Environmental Crime)
Wolf 2011
Green crime was 1st used to describe acts that break laws protecting the environment
However
what is illegal in one country may be legal in another, laws change over time and some of the acts may be covered by health and safety regulations
Who Commits green crime?
Individuals
- can have a powerful cumulative impact on the enviroment
Private Business Organisations
- cause the most devastating harm
States and Governments
-
Santana 2002
- the military is the largest polluter - warfare generates environmental destruction
Organised crime
- long standing involvement often in collusion with governments.
Massari + Monzni 2003
- revealed collusion between mafia, legal businesses and local authorities in Italy for hazardous waste disposal
A Transgressive Approach
Lynch and Stretsky 2003
Suggest that green criminology should adopt a more transgressive approach which goes beyond simply defining environmental crime as law breaking
White 2008
Considers environmental crime to be any human action that causes environmental harm, whether or not it is illegal. This includes acts that harm the physical environment, including people animals and plants (Environmental justice approach)
White 2008
Three theoretical tendencies within green crime, each of which understands it differently
1.Environmental Justice
- impact of green crimes (toxic dumping)
2. Ecological Justice
- green crimes on the ecosystem, complex nature of connections linking all living things
3. Species Justice
- impact of green crimes on non human species e.g poaching
Examples of Green Crime
Pollution
Contamination of land, water, air by dangerous emissions of toxic substances
Unregulated fishing (Whaling)
Illegal deforestation (Amazon rain forest)
The Bhopal Disaster India 1984
The Amazon Rainforest Debate
Green Crime and Globalisation
Events in one country can have consequences in many others - climate change (deforestation and emissions)
Nuclear energy creates a growing problem of nuclear waste disposal as well as increased risks of nuclear accidents (Chernobyl 1986 and Fukishima 2011
Becks Global Risk Society
In late modern societies, Beck suggests that there are new kinds of risk that are created by the actions of human beings through the application of science and technology
Beck emphasises that these are global risks - potentially disastrous consequences for the global environment
White 2008
Illustrates - globalised nature of green crimes by the way TNC's move manufacturing operations tot he Global South to avoid pollution laws in more developed countries, and either illegally dump European waste or send it for processing to developed counties where disposal costs are lower and enforcement less effective
Victims of Green Crime
Wolf
points out widespread inequalities in the distribution of harm and in how laws are made, applied and enforced
Potter 2010
Current social divisions are reinforced by environmental harms with the least powerful being the most likely victims.
Environmental Racism
- those who suffer the worst effect are of different ethnicity to those who create the harm
White 2003
The developing world increasing provides legal and illegal dumpsite for the developed worlds unwanted waste - caused the residents far greater risk to air, water and land pollution
Enforcement Action
Governments are mainly responsible for creating and enforcing laws and regulations that control green crime
But
they often perform these polices in collaboration with the businesses who are most likely to be the principle offenders
Snider 1991
Argues that states are reluctant to pass laws against pollution and other environmental harm and generally only do so when pressured by public opposition. They will strengthen them reluctantly, weaken them wherever possible and enforce them rarely
Sutherland 1983
Pointed out that like other white collar and corporate crimes, environmental crimes don't carry the same stigma as conventional crime
Rich multinational copanies often have the power to avoid being labelled as criminal
2011-2012
- waste crime only £170 k fines and 12 prison sentences despite knowledge that this crime is often organised and profitable
Explaining Green Crimes
White 2008
Green crimes emerge as actions are more concerned with the well being of their own citizens through economic growth and the environment is secondary to this
Wolf
Green crime is motivated by many of the same factors as ordinary crime (rational choice, Strain, Control) this suggests that individuals and companies are motivates to commit green crime as it pays - reduces financial costs, or personal hassle
Marxists
Suggest the most serious green crimes are examples of the 'Crimes of the powerful
Pearce
- corporate crime arising from criminogenic capitalism
Corporations seek to minimise costs and maximise profits - dumping toxic waste
Problems of Researching
Different laws
- official stats aren't always comparable
Different Definitions
- some dispute over what counts as green crime (researchers/nations) generates problems in the measurement, monitoring and reporting - reliability issues
Difficulties in measurement
- offenders of green crime usually have the capacity to conceal their identity - difficult to discover and measure
The use of case studies
- have limited use in explaining and making generalisations about green crime
Evaluation of Green Crime
Useful in addressing the growing threats of environmental harm
Locates this threat within a globalised context
White argues there is a lack of clarity about what environmental crime actually is - who defines the harm?
Risk of value judgements and subjective interpretations if research is high