Green Crime Flashcards
(8 cards)
1
Q
What are the 2 perspectives on green crime?
A
- Anthropocentric: Human centred - humans have the right to dominate nature for their own ends. Economic growth is more important than the environment which means some harms will come about
- Ecocentric: Humans and the environment are interdependent. Environmental harm hurts humans and we should therefore be concerned about it
2
Q
What is the ‘global risk society’?
A
- Beck argues that in late modernity, we can now provide adequate resources for all (in developed countries). But the increase in productivity and the technology that sustains it have created ‘manufactured risks’ (dangers that we have faced before)
- Many of these risks involve harm to the environment and its consequences for humanity, these risks are also global in nature (e.g. climate change), which Becks then calls the ‘global risk society’
3
Q
What is traditional criminology?
A
- If no law has been broken, there’s no need to worry. Traditional criminologists are only concerned with patterns of law breaking
- e.g. Situ and Emmons define environmental crime as ‘an unauthorised act or omission that violates the law’
- This view is criticised for accepted official definitions of environmental crime and overlooking power inequalities within society
4
Q
What is green criminology?
A
- Harm is just as important as law. White argues that any action that harms the environment, humans or animals should be an area of concern for sociologists.
- Green crime is a global issue and as crime is a social construct we shouldn’t accept what is legally defined as criminal as this many change according to time and place
- Green criminologists are wary of how powerful groups can define and set environmental laws for their own interest.
5
Q
What are the 2 types of green crime?
A
South distinguishes between primary green crime ( ‘crimes that result directly from the destruction and degradation of the earth’s resources’) and secondary green (any green crime that come from disregarding rules or regulations)
6
Q
Describe the 4 main types of primary crime
A
- Crimes of air pollution: Burning fossil fuels from industry and transport adds 6 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year, contributing to global heating.
- Crimes of deforestation: Between 1960 and 1990, one fifth of the world’s tropical rainforest was destroyed, e.g. through illegal logging. In the Amazon, forest has been cleared to rear beef cattle for export
- Crimes of species decline and animal abuse: 50 species a day are becoming extinct and trafficking of animals
- Crimes of water pollution: Half a billion people lack access to clean drinking water and 25 million die annually from drinking contaminated water
7
Q
Describe 2 examples of secondary green crimes
A
- State violence against oppositional groups: States condemn terrorism, but they have been prepared to resort to similar illegal methods themselves
- Hazardous waste and organised crime: Due to the high costs of safe and legal disposal, businesses may seek to dispose of such waste illegally. e.g. The Bhopal Disaster: Union Carbide company had a poisonous gas leaked into the water triggered a reaction. In the local community, 25 thousand died and are now suffering health conditions related to poisonous gas. Water is still contaminated and the area hasn’t been cleaned properly
- Environmental discrimination: South describes how poorer groups are worse affected by pollution
8
Q
Describe evaluation of green criminology
A
- Green criminology recognises the growing importance of environmental issues and the need to address the harms and risks of environmental damage, both to humans and non-humans
- By focusing on the much broader concept of harms rather than simply on legally defined crimes, it’s hard to define the boundaries of its field of study clearly. Defining these boundaries involves making moral or political statements about which actions ought to be regarded as wrong. Critics argue that this is a matter of values and can’t be established objectively
