Green/Environmental Crime

Question 1

What do sociologists mean by ‘Green crime’?

Answer 1

• Actions that break laws protecting natural environment
• Wolf (2011): Suggests adding non-crime environmental harm to this - every country has different laws and standards, but we should be able to agree that all harm is bad

Question 2

Postmodernist/Transgressive approach

Answer 2

• Disregard objective definition to focus on subjective experience
• Suggest anything that harms the environment, people’s ability to live within it, or even plants and animals, should be criminal
• White (2008) - Environmental justice approach

Question 3

The Bhopal Disaster

Answer 3

• USA company Union Carbide owned Indian factory that leaked poisonous gas in 1984
• Staff broke Health & Safety regulations - failed to check equipment
• Transgressive Sociologists - TNCs deliberately do dangerous work in LEDCs due to lack of health & safety rules
• 5K died on the day - total is 25K now
• Higher rates of birth defects - 570K
• Waste contamination pits remained - no intervention
• Company obeyed law in USA plant, not Bhopal

Question 4

The Deepwater Horizon Incident

Answer 4

• Oil rig exploded in 2010 - crude oil leaked into Gulf of Mexico - killed 11 people (and 17 crew members)
• Tourism, fishing, coral reefs, wildlife damaged
• Company reliant on tax-funded gov cleanup teams
• Took 6 months to declare well dead (plugged w/ cement) - tried to collect and use oil from spill at first
• Cost-cutting culture compromised safety of the rig - company paid fines, no one individually punished

Question 5

The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

Answer 5

• 2015: VW and other car manufacturers had been using illegal software to cheat emissions tests on diesel engines
• Allowed them to sell non-compliant cars into EU
• Cars already caused 1M tonnes of extra air pollution, compared with manufacturers’ claims - costs customers money as well as rise in vehicle tax
• Many have claimed compensation through class action suits
• Affected 11M cars worldwide - paid $250M in USA
• $10B to owners, $2.7B for cleanup, $2B to promore zero emission

Question 6

Wolf (2011) - Transgressive - Who’s to blame?

Answer 6

• Individuals
• Private business organisations
• States & Governments
• Organised Crime

Question 6

Beck, White

How is green crime related to globalisation?

Answer 6

• Beck (1992) - in the past, most environmental disasters were natural, but they’re increasingly due to human activity - arguments, insecurity, contributions to global risk soc.
• White (2008) - Western govs & TNCs moving to poor countries to hide green crimes - 2021: UK shipping plastic waste to Turkey for recycling - waste left in piles

Question 7

Potter (2010) - Victims of Green Crime

Answer 7

• WC/Poor - living in polluted areas, less legal protections against comapnies, urban density
• Ethnic minorities - vulnerable locations, lack of funds/tech, injustice as it is rich who pollute poor

Question 8

Potter (2010): Environmental Racism

Answer 8

• Ethnic minorities forced to live with consequences of environmental damage caused by white people - ‘Loss & Damage funds’ which rich pay into, poor can take
• View is challenged by Marxists for ignoring class/finance issues to focus on only one of its identified victim groups
• Arbitrary conflation of ethnicity with disadvantage is rejected by non-postmodernists

Question 9

Snider, Sutherland

Who is responsible for enforcement action on Green Crime?

Answer 9

• Snider (1991) - Marxist, govts don’t do enough, often financially supported by those responsible
• Sutherland (1983) - In West, environmental crime isn’t seen to be as serious as other crimes, lenient courts
• UK - Environment Agency responsible - very low conviction rate, fines aren’t enough deterrence

Question 10

Evidence for these bodies failing to enforce action on Green Crime

Answer 10

• Govs often receive money from industries that destroy environment
• Very low fines for crimes like fly-tipping, and almost no risk of prison - seen as unimportant
• Avg. prosecution and penalty levels from Environment Agency have fallen recently

Question 11

White, Wolf. Pearce

Why does Green Crime Happen?

Answer 11

• White (2008) - Most people have anthorpocentric view of the world - happy to sacrifice environment for progress
• Wolf (2011) - apply established individual motications for crime (strain, rational choice)
• Pearce (1976) - criminogenic capitalism - make money at any cost, companies only consider environment customers can see

Question 12

Problems with Researching Green crime

Answer 12

• Different laws
• Different definitions
• Measurement issues
• Reliance on case studies
• Morally relativistic
• Hypocrisy - moral hegemony that talks down to poor