Green Crime Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is green crime
Crime against the environment. Much green crime can be linked to globalisation. A problem caused in one locality can have worldwide effects e.g. Chernobyl in Ukraine spread radioactive material over thousands of miles
‘Global risk society’ and the environment
Beck argues that in todays society we can now provide adequate resources for all individuals in developed countries. However the massive increase in productivity and the technology that sustains it has created new ‘manufactured risks’ . Many of these risks involve harm to the environment for example global warming
Traditional criminology
Hasn’t been concerned with behaviour that causes environmental problems as long as no criminal law has been broken. Situ and Emmons define environmental crime as an unauthorised act or omission that violates the law and therefore only offences which damage the environment and break laws would be the focus of analysis
Green criminology
Starts from the notion of harm not law. Lynch and Stretsky and White argue that the proper subject of criminology is any action that harms the physical environment even if no law has been broken. Green criminology develops a global perspective on environmental harm
Crimes of air pollution
Burning fossils fuels from industry and transport adds 6 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year and carbon emissions are growing around 2% per year, contributing to global warming. The potential criminals are governments, businesses, and consumers. According to Walters, twice as many people now die from air pollution- induced breathing problems as 20 years ago
Crimes of deforestation
Between 1960 and 1990 one fifth of the worlds tropical rainforest was destroyed for example through illegal logging. In the amazon, forest has been cleared to rear beef cattle for export. The criminals include the state and those who profit from forest destruction such as logging companies.
Crimes of water pollution
Half a billion people lack access to clean drinking water and 25 million die annually from drinking contaminated water. Marine pollution threatens 58% of the worlds ocean reefs. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused massive harm to marine life. Criminals include businesses that dump toxic waste and governments that discharge untreated sewage water into rivers and seas
State violence against oppositional groups
States condemn terrorism, but they have been prepared to resort to similar illegal methods themselves. In 1985 the French secret service blew up the Greenpeace ship ‘Rainbow warrior’ in Auckland Harbour. The vessel was there to prevent a green crime, testing french nuclear weapons in the south pacific
Hazardous waste and organised crime
Disposal of toxic waste from chemical, nuclear and other industries is highly profitable. Because of high costs of safe and legal disposal, many businesses seek to dispose of waste illegally
Explaining green crime
Wolf suggests that green crime is motivated by many of the same factors as ordinary crime. Strain and Marxist theorists of crime suggest that individuals and companies are motivated to break environmental laws or commit harm because crime pays. Perpetrators face less stigma and weaker sanctions because crimes aren’t taken as seriously
The victims of green crime
Potter points out current social divisions are reinforced by environmental harms with the least powerful being the most likely victimes of green crime in both developed and underdeveloped countries. ‘Environmental racism’- those suffering the worst effects of environmental damage are of different ethnicity from those who are causing damage. ‘Environmental discrimination’- south used to describe how poorer groups are more disadvantaged by pollution
Problems of researching green crime
Different countries have different laws so official statistics may not always be comparable between countries
Different definitions of green crime create problems measuring, monitoring and reporting green crime
Most research comes from case studies which have limited use in explaining and making generalisation about green crime on a wider scale
