Green criminology
Green criminology is an interdisciplinary field that examines environmental harm through a criminological lens, focusing on the crimes and damages inflicted on the environment, the perpetrators of these offenses, and the victims impacted by environmental degradation. This area of study encompasses a range of issues, including illegal wildlife trade, pollution, and the exploitation of natural resources, aiming to understand the social, economic, and political contexts that contribute to such crimes. Green criminologists analyze not only the actions deemed criminal but also the broader implications of environmental harm, emphasizing that environmental issues can affect all communities, particularly those that are economically disadvantaged or marginalized.
The origins of green criminology date back to the early 1990s, and it has since evolved to address significant global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. It includes the evaluation of corporate misconduct, regulatory failures, and the impacts of law enforcement on environmental health. By investigating these crimes, green criminology seeks to inform policy and promote justice for communities and ecosystems affected by environmental harm. The field highlights the importance of integrating environmental considerations into criminology to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between crime, law, and the environment.
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Subject Terms
Green criminology
Green criminology is the analysis of environmental harms from a criminological perspective, or the application of criminological thought to environmental issues. This means thinking about offenses (what crimes or harms are inflicted on the environment, and how), offenders (who commits crime against the environment, and why), and victims (who suffers as a result of environmental damage, and how). Also included in the study of green criminology are responses to environmental crimes, such as enforcement, punishment, and prevention of further offenses. The study of green criminology also considers the social, economic, and political conditions that lead to environmental crimes.
Examples of green crimes include the illegal trade of wildlife, illegal hunting and fishing, the illegal harvest of natural resources such as lumber, and the illegal dumping of toxic waste, which can contaminate water supplies. Some argue that willful violation of workplace safety regulations, particularly with respect to mining and oil extraction operations, can fall under the green criminology umbrella.
Anyone can potentially be a victim of an environmental crime. Humans depend on the natural world for the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe. Populations of all ages, races, and economic statuses are vulnerable, though poor and minority communities may be disproportionately affected by environmental hazards and crimes. Large-scale environmental harms are often caused by legal economic activity financed by wealthy corporations. While this may not fit the traditional definition of "crime," many criminologists and sociologists argue that it should.
Brief History
The term green criminology was first coined in the early 1990s. It aims to place a primary emphasis on crimes and harms affecting the environment, addressing issues such as climate change; natural resource extraction and exploitation; pollution of air, land, and water; biodiversity loss; and wildlife trafficking. Leading scholars in the field, such as Michael Lynch and Paul Stretesky, have published numerous papers and books on the subject.
Environmental protection is one of the fastest-growing areas of international law, and the study of green criminology concerns itself with individual harms caused by willful or negligent damage of the environment. In its broadest definition, green criminology is concerned with all types of harm inflicted on the environment caused by human activity, regardless of whether humans are directly affected.
The case has been made for a green perspective within criminology, arguing that the study of criminology itself should be more sensitive to the extent and implications of globally important environmental matters. Major topics studied include pollution and its regulation; corporate criminality and its impact on the environment; health and safety in the workplace where breaches of regulations and law have environmentally damaging consequences; and the involvement of public officials and reputed organized crime figures in the illegal disposal of toxic waste. Other fields under the green criminology umbrella include the impact and legacy of law enforcement and military operations on air quality, landscapes, and water supply, as well as regulation, law enforcement, and prosecution relevant to such acts and omissions.
Environmental awareness more generally began to take shape in the 1970s, when Congress started to enact laws to protect the nation's air, water, and lands from uncontrolled pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed on December 2, 1970, via executive order of President Richard M. Nixon. Environmental laws were enacted in response to the consequences of unregulated industrial development that had degraded natural resources to the point that some rivers were unfishable and the air in many areas was not breathable.
Land contamination became a national issue after the Love Canal disaster in Niagara Falls, New York. The Love Canal story began in 1890 when William Love, the owner of a tract of land near Niagara Falls, wanted to build a new housing community. He thought that digging a canal between the Upper Niagara and Lower Niagara Rivers would grant his planned community better access to inexpensive hydroelectric power. The canal was never finished, and it later became a dump site for tons of toxic waste. Unusually wet winters in the late 1970s caused the water table to rise, and the chemical soup dumped there leached into the ground. This resulted in an abnormally high concentration of health issues, including birth defects, afflicting the residents of that neighborhood.
As more environmental laws were drafted, compliance costs began to rise, so criminal provisions were included to deter illegal shortcuts. Small- to mid-sized operations might actually find it more cost-effective to risk punishment instead of absorbing the cost of compliance. Most environmental prosecutions target larger companies that knowingly choose to break the law instead of operating in an environmentally responsible manner.
Most environmental crimes require both proof of pollution and proof of criminal intent. In most cases, the government must prove voluntary and intentional misconduct.
Impact
After consulting with 150 environmental, developmental, and criminal justice experts worldwide, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime established a baseline assessment of organized environmental crime.
The value of wildlife trade is estimated at $19 billion a year; a single rhinoceros horn can net up to $260,000 for criminal groups. The value of illegal fishing is estimated at $23 billion annually, and experts believe it will collapse the world's fish stocks by the year 2048. Deforestation in the Amazon region increased up to 103 percent in 2012 and 2013, with estimated profits of $100 billion for the illegal timber industry. In the Asia-Pacific region alone, some 80 percent of lumber is thought to be illicitly sourced.
Environmental crimes don't just impact natural resources and wildlife habitats, they affect quality of life in the form of conflict, the legal system, and access to food, shelter, and water. The loss of revenue through legitimate trade in natural resources restricts economic development and contributes to income inequality, and at a local level the involvement of organized crime and other corrupt elements can reduce access to legitimate income. Further, the criminal justice system has begun to crack down on corporate executives who knowingly cut corners. In April 2016, former Massey Energy chief executive officer Don Blankenship was sentenced to a year in prison for conspiring to falsify dust samples at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia, where an explosion in 2010 killed twenty-nine miners.
On a global scale, United Nations Environment Programme has established a number of subprograms to evaluate environmental risks and advocate for those most affected. The organization monitors and advises on chemicals, the environment, and other areas of concern.
Bibliography
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"EPA History." Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/history. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
"Love Canal – A Brief History." Geneseo The State University of New York, www.geneseo.edu/history/love‗canal‗history. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Potter, Gary R. "What is Green Criminology?" Sociology Review, Nov. 2010, www.greencriminology.org/monthly/WhatIsGreenCriminology.pdf. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
"Prosecution of Federal Pollution Crimes." US Department of Justice, www.justice.gov/enrd/prosecution-federal-pollution-crimes. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
South, Nigel, Avi Brisman, and Bill McClanahan. "Green Criminology." Oxford Bibliographies, 28 Apr. 2014, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396607/obo-9780195396607-0161.xml. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Van Pelt, Kara. "Former U.S. Coal CEO Gets Year in Prison for Blast That Killed 29." Reuters, 6 Apr. 2016, www.reuters.com/article/us-massey-energy-ceo-idUSKCN0X324W. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
White, Rob. "Green Criminology." Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice, link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-5690-2‗314. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.