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Green criminology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Green criminology is a branch of criminology that involves the study of harms and crimes against the environment broadly conceived, including the study of environmental law and policy, the study of corporate crimes against the environment, and environmental justice from a criminological perspective.[1]

Origins

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The term "green criminology" was introduced by Michael J. Lynch in 1990, and expanded upon in Nancy Frank and Michael J. Lynch's 1992 book, Corporate Crime, Corporate Violence,[2] which examined the political economic origins of green crime and injustice, and the scope of environmental law. The term became more widely used following publication of a special issue on green criminology in the journal Theoretical Criminology edited by Piers Beirne and Nigel South in 1998.[3] Green criminology has recently started to feature in university-level curriculum and textbooks in criminology and other disciplinary fields.[4]

The study of green criminology has expanded significantly over time, and is supported by groups such as the International Green Criminology Working Group.[5] There are increasing interfaces and hybrid empirical and theoretical influences between the study of green criminology, which focuses on environmental harms and crimes, and mainstream criminology and criminal justice, with criminologists studying the 'greening' of criminal justice institutions and practices in efforts to become more environmentally sustainable and the involvement of people in prison or on probation in ecological justice initiatives.[6][7][8]

Approaches

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Though green criminology was originally proposed as a political economic approach for the study of environmental harm, crime, law and justice, there are now several varieties of green criminology as noted below.[9]

Political economy, environmental justice, and the treadmill of production approach

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The initial grounding of green criminology was in political economic theory and analysis. In his original 1990 article,[10] Lynch proposed green criminology as an extension of radical criminology and its focus on political economic theory and analysis. In that view, it was essential to examine the political economic dimensions of green crime and justice in order to understand the major environmental issues of our times and how they connect with the political economy of capitalism. The political economic approach was expanded upon by Lynch and Paul B. Stretesky in two additional articles in The Critical Criminologist.[11][12] In those articles, Lynch and Stretesky extended the scope of green criminology to apply to the study of environmental justice, and followed that work with a series of studies addressing environmental justice concerns,[13][14][15][16][17] the distribution of environmental crimes and hazards,[18][19] and empirical studies of environmental justice movements and enforcement.[20][21][22][23] [24] Later, working with Michael A. Long and then Kimberly L. Barrett, the political economic explanation and empirical studies of green crimes were adapted to include a perspective on the structural influence of the treadmill of production on the creation of green crimes [25][26][27][28] drawn from the work of Allan Schnaiberg, environmental sociology, eco-socialism and ecological Marxism. Throughout the development of the political economic approach to green criminology, scholars have made significant use of scientific and ecological literatures, as well as empirical analysis, which have become characteristics of this approach and distinguish it from other varieties of green criminology.

Nonspeciesist and nonhuman animal studies

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The second major variation of green criminology is the nonspeciesist argument proposed by Piers Beirne.[29] In Beirne's view, the study of harms against nonhuman animals is an important criminological topic which requires attention and at the same time illustrates the limits of current criminological theorizing about, crime/harm, law and justice with its focus almost exclusively on humans.[30] This approach also includes discussions of animal rights. Beirne's approach to green criminology has been extremely influential, and there are now a significant number of studies within the green criminological literature focusing on nonhuman animal crimes and animal abuse.[31] In addition to studies of animal abuse, included within the scope of nonhuman animal studies are those focused on illegal wildlife trade, poaching, wildlife smuggling, animal trafficking and the international trade in endangered species.[32][33][34] Many of the studies green criminologists undertake in this area of research are theoretical or qualitative. Ron Clarke and several colleagues, however, have explored empirical examinations of illegal animal trade and trafficking,[35][36][37][38] and this has become a useful approach for examining green crimes. Clarke's approach draws on more traditional criminological theory such as rational choice theory and crime opportunity theory, and hence is not within the mainstream of green criminological approaches. Nevertheless, Clarke's approach has drawn attention to important empirical explanations of green crimes.

Bio-piracy and eco-crimes

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Similar to the political economic approach but without grounding in political economic theory, some green criminologists have explored the issue of green crime by examining how corporate behavior impacts green crimes.[39] Among other issues, this approach has included discussions of eco-crimes and activities such as bio-piracy as discussed by Nigel South.[40] Bio-piracy is largely an effort by corporations to commodify native knowledge and to turn native knowledge and practices into for-profit products while depriving native peoples of their rights to that knowledge and those products, and in most cases, avoiding payments to natives for their knowledge or products. Bio-piracy includes issues of social and economic justice for native peoples. These kinds of crimes fall into the category of eco-crimes, a term associated with the work of Reece Walters.[41] Also included within the examination of eco-crimes is the analysis of other ecologically harmful corporate behaviors such as the production of genetically modified foods[42] and various forms of toxic pollution.[43]

Ecocide

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Main article: Ecocide

Ecocide describes attempts to criminalize human activities that cause extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystems of a given territory; and which diminish the health and well-being of species within these ecosystems including humans. It involves transgressions that violate the principles of environmental justice, ecological justice and species justice. When this occurs as a result of human behaviour, advocates argue that a crime has occurred. However, this has not yet been accepted as an international crime by the United Nations.[44]

Eco-global criminology

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Some of those who study environmental crime and justice prefer the use of Rob White's term, eco-global criminology.[45] In proposing this term, White suggested that it is necessary to employ a critical analysis of environmental crime as it occurs in its global context and connections.[46] Similar to Lynch's political economic approach to green criminology, White has also noted that it is desirable to refer to the political economy of environmental crime, and to social and environmental justice issues.

Green-cultural criminology

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As proposed by Avi Brisman and Nigel South [47] green-cultural criminology attempts to integrate green and cultural criminology to explore the cultural meaning and significance of terms such as "environment" and "environmental crime". Green-cultural criminology goes against traditional approaches in regards to criminology, bringing attention to social harms and social consequences.[48]

Conservation criminology

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Conservation criminology is complementary to green criminology. Originally proposed by an interdisciplinary group of scholars from the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, School of Criminal Justice, and Environmental Science & Policy Program at Michigan State University, conservation criminology seeks to overcome limitations inherent to single-discipline science and provide practical guidance about on-the-ground reforms.[49][50] Conservation criminology is an interdisciplinary and applied paradigm for understanding programs and policies associated with global conservation risks. By integrating natural resources management, risk and decision science, and criminology, conservation criminology-based approaches ideally result in improved environmental resilience, biodiversity conservation, and secure human livelihoods. As an interdisciplinary science, conservation criminology requires the constant and creative combination of theories, methods, and techniques from diverse disciplines throughout the entire processes of research, practice, education, and policy. Thinking about the interdisciplinary nature of conservation criminology can be quite exciting but does require patience and understanding of the different languages, epistemologies and ontologies of the core disciplines. Conservation criminology has been extensively applied to extralegal exploitation of natural resources such as wildlife poaching in Namibia[51] and Madagascar[52] corruption in conservation,[53] e-waste,[54] and general noncompliance with conservation rules.[55] By relying on multiple disciplines, conservation criminology leapfrogs this ideal; it promotes thinking about second- and third-order consequences of risks, not just isolated trends.

Green Crime and Media

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The way of seeing eco-crime through media in the form of images portrays racism.[56] Photography is very powerful tool to generate perspective and interpretation when representing the eco-crime. The blackness of the eco-crime be it in just a background or sillhoutte of the people on the site of eco-crime or the title of the images which has a racist content can be a tool to racialize the community where eco-crime happens or creating a symbol where green crime is black.[56] Reading race through an image is one of beneficial approach to see how racism pictured through an images of eco-crime.[56] Moreover, the meaning of green also deducted by media.[57] Media advertisement tend to use all the so called "go green" to sell the product eventhough the product is not really a sustainable product and not environmentally friendly.[57] This act by media to advertise their product to increase selling by sabotasing the "go green" movement is called 'greenwashing'.[57] Criminologist and media should study and create a focus on how the media portrays eco-crime to provide an equal information free from bias be it gender and race as well as eager to pay an attention towards green offender (e.g. corporations which violate environmental laws).[56][58]

Green criminological theory

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It is often noted that green criminology is interdisciplinary and as a result, lacks its own unique theory or any preferred theoretical approach. Moreover, significant portions of the green criminological literature are qualitative and descriptive, and those studies have generally not proposed a unique or unifying theory. Despite this general lack of a singular theory, some of the approaches noted above indicate certain theoretical preferences. For example, as noted, the political economic approach to green criminology develops explanations of green crime, victimization and environmental justice consistent with several existing strains of political economic analysis. Beirne's approach takes an interdisciplinary view of theory with respect to various animal rights models and arguments. Clarke's rational choice models of animal poaching and trafficking build on the rational choice tradition found within the criminological literature. To date, these different theoretical approaches have not been examined as competing explanations for green crime and justice, a situation that is found with respect to orthodox or traditional criminological theories of street crime.

References

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  1. ^ Nurse, Angus (2017-10-31). "Green criminology: shining a critical lens on environmental harm". Palgrave Communications. 3 (1): 1–4. doi:10.1057/s41599-017-0007-2. ISSN 2055-1045.
  2. ^ Frank, Nancy (Nancy K. ) (1992). Corporate crime, corporate violence : a primer. New York : Harrow and Heston. ISBN 978-0-911577-23-5.
  3. ^ South, Nigel; Beirne, Piers (May 1998). "Editors' Introduction". Theoretical Criminology. 2 (2): 147–148. doi:10.1177/1362480698002002001. ISSN 1362-4806. S2CID 220321224.
  4. ^ White, Rob (2014-02-03). Green Criminology: An Introduction to the Study of Environmental Harm (1 ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203096109. ISBN 978-0-203-09610-9.
  5. ^ "Green Criminology". Green Criminology. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  6. ^ Graham, Hannah; White, R. D. (2015). "4". Innovative justice. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-09605-5.
  7. ^ White, Rob; Graham, Hannah (September 2015). "Greening Justice: Examining the Interfaces of Criminal, Social and Ecological Justice". British Journal of Criminology. 55 (5): 845–865. doi:10.1093/bjc/azu117. ISSN 0007-0955.
  8. ^ Moran, D.; Jewkes, Y. (2014-12-22). ""Green" prisons: rethinking the "sustainability" of the carceral estate". Geographica Helvetica. 69 (5): 345–353. doi:10.5194/gh-69-345-2014. ISSN 2194-8798.
  9. ^ For a general guide to green criminology, its definition, and varieties see, South, Nigel, Avi Brisman, and Piers Beirne. (2013). A guide to a green criminology. Pp. 27-42 in N. South and A. Brisman (eds), The Routledge international handbook of green criminology. UK: Routledge.
  10. ^ Lynch, J. Michael (2017-07-05). "The Greening of Criminology: A Perspective on the 1990s". In South, Nigel; Beime, Piers (eds.). Green Criminology (1 ed.). Routledge. pp. 165–170. doi:10.4324/9781315093390-7. ISBN 978-1-315-09339-0.
  11. ^ Lynch, Michael J. and Paul B. Stretesky. 1999. Clarifying the Analysis of Environmental Justice: Further Thoughts on the Critical Analysis of Environmental Justice Issues. The Critical Criminologist. 9,3: 5-8
  12. ^ Lynch, Michael; Stretesky, Paul (1998). "Uniting Class, Race and Criticism Through the Study of Environmental Justice" (PDF). The Critical Criminologist. 9 (1).
  13. ^ Stretesky, Paul B.; Lynch, Michael J. (September 2002). "Environmental Hazards and School Segregation in Hillsborough County, Florida, 1987–1999". The Sociological Quarterly. 43 (4): 553–573. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.2002.tb00066.x. ISSN 0038-0253.
  14. ^ Stretesky, Paul; Lynch, Michael J. (1999). "Environmental Justice and the Predictions of Distance to Accidental Chemical Releases in Hillsborough County, Florida". Social Science Quarterly. 80 (4): 830–846. ISSN 0038-4941. JSTOR 42864408.
  15. ^ Stretesky, Paul; Lynch, Michael J. (1998). "Corporate environmental violence and racism". Crime, Law and Social Change. 30 (2): 163–184. doi:10.1023/A:1008393401769.
  16. ^ Lynch, Michael J.; Stretesky, Paul B.; Burns, Ronald G. (April 2004). "Determinants of Environmental Law Violation Fines Against Petroleum Refineries: Race, Ethnicity, Income, and Aggregation Effects". Society & Natural Resources. 17 (4): 333–347. Bibcode:2004SNatR..17..333L. doi:10.1080/08941920490278782. ISSN 0894-1920.
  17. ^ Lynch, Michael J.; Stretesky, Paul B.; Burns, Ronald G. (January 2004). "Slippery Business: Race, Class, and Legal Determinants of Penalties Against Petroleum Refineries". Journal of Black Studies. 34 (3): 421–440. doi:10.1177/0021934703258756. ISSN 0021-9347.
  18. ^ Stretesky, Paul B.; Lynch, Michael J. (April 2011). "Coal Strip Mining, Mountaintop Removal, and the Distribution of Environmental Violations across the United States, 2002–2008". Landscape Research. 36 (2): 209–230. Bibcode:2011LandR..36..209S. doi:10.1080/01426397.2010.547572. hdl:10.1080/01426397.2010.547572. ISSN 0142-6397.
  19. ^ Stretesky, Paul B.; Lynch, Michael J. (March 2009). "A cross-national study of the association between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and exports to the United States". Social Science Research. 38 (1): 239–250. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2008.08.004.
  20. ^ Lynch, Michael J.; Stretesky, Paul B. (2013-03-01). "The distribution of water-monitoring organizations across states: Implications for community environmental policing and social justice". Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management. 36 (1): 6–26. doi:10.1108/13639511311302452. ISSN 1363-951X.
  21. ^ Lynch, Michael J.; Stretesky, Paul B. (2011). "Native Americans and Social and Environmental Justice: Implications for Criminology". Social Justice. 38 (3 (125)): 104–124. ISSN 1043-1578. JSTOR 41940950.
  22. ^ Stretesky, Paul B.; Huss, Sheila; Lynch, Michael J. (2012-09-01). "Density dependence and environmental justice organizations, 1970–2008". The Social Science Journal. 49 (3): 343–351. doi:10.1016/j.soscij.2012.03.002. ISSN 0362-3319.
  23. ^ Stretesky, Paul B.; Huss, Sheila; Lynch, Michael J.; Zahran, Sammy; Childs, Bob (August 2011). "The Founding of Environmental Justice Organizations Across U.S. Counties during the 1990s and 2000s: Civil Rights and Environmental Cross-Movement Effects". Social Problems. 58 (3): 330–360. doi:10.1525/sp.2011.58.3.330.
  24. ^ Stretesky, Paul B.; O'Connor Shelley, Tara; Crow, Matthew S. (December 2010). "Do Conservation Organizations Influence the Production of Natural Resource Violations?". Organization & Environment. 23 (4): 398–416. doi:10.1177/1086026610385902. ISSN 1086-0266.
  25. ^ Long, Michael A.; Stretesky, Paul B.; Lynch, Michael J.; Fenwick, Emily (September 2012). "Crime in the Coal Industry: Implications for Green Criminology and Treadmill of Production". Organization & Environment. 25 (3): 328–346. doi:10.1177/1086026612452266. ISSN 1086-0266.
  26. ^ Lynch, M. J.; Long, M. A.; Barrett, K. L.; Stretesky, P. B. (2013-11-01). "Is it a Crime to Produce Ecological Disorganization? Why Green Criminology and Political Economy Matter in the Analysis of Global Ecological Harms". British Journal of Criminology. 53 (6): 997–1016. doi:10.1093/bjc/azt051. ISSN 0007-0955.
  27. ^ Stretesky, Paul; Long, Michael; Lynch, Michael (2013-08-15). The Treadmill of Crime. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203077092. ISBN 978-1-135-12942-2.
  28. ^ Stretesky, Paul B.; Long, Michael A.; Lynch, Michael J. (July 2013). "Does environmental enforcement slow the treadmill of production? The relationship between large monetary penalties, ecological disorganization and toxic releases within offending corporations". Journal of Crime and Justice. 36 (2): 233–247. doi:10.1080/0735648X.2012.752254. ISSN 0735-648X.
  29. ^ Beirne, Piers (February 1999). "For a nonspeciesist criminology: Animal abuse as an object of study". Criminology. 37 (1): 117–148. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1999.tb00481.x. ISSN 0011-1384.
  30. ^ Beirne, Piers (2009). Confronting animal abuse: law, criminology, and human-animal relationships. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-4743-8.
  31. ^ For examples see the special issue of Crime, Law and Social Change Beirne has edited (volume 55, number 5); Cazaux, Geertrui. 1999. Beauty and the beast: Animal abuse from a non-speciesist criminological perspective. Crime, Law and Social Change 31, 2 : 105-125.
  32. ^ van Uhm, D.P. (2016). The Illegal Wildlife Trade: Inside the World of Poachers, Smugglers and Traders (Studies of Organized Crime). Vol. 15. New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-42129-2. ISBN 978-3-319-42128-5.
  33. ^ Green Criminology & Wildlife Trafficking: the illegal fur and falcon trades in Russia Far East.
  34. ^ Wyatt, Tanya (February 2009). "Exploring the organization of Russia Far East's illegal wildlife trade: two case studies of the illegal fur and illegal falcon trades". Global Crime. 10 (1–2): 144–154. doi:10.1080/17440570902783947. ISSN 1744-0572.
  35. ^ Lemieux, A. M.; Clarke, R. V. (2009-07-01). "The International Ban on Ivory Sales and its Effects on Elephant Poaching in Africa". British Journal of Criminology. 49 (4): 451–471. doi:10.1093/bjc/azp030. ISSN 0007-0955.
  36. ^ Clarke, Ronald V.; de By, Rolf A. (September 2013). "Poaching, habitat loss and the decline of neotropical parrots: a comparative spatial analysis". Journal of Experimental Criminology. 9 (3): 333–353. doi:10.1007/s11292-013-9177-0. ISSN 1573-3750.
  37. ^ Pires, Stephen; Clarke, Ronald V. (February 2012). "Are Parrots CRAVED? An Analysis of Parrot Poaching in Mexico". Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 49 (1): 122–146. doi:10.1177/0022427810397950. ISSN 0022-4278.
  38. ^ Pires, S. F.; Clarke, R. V. (2011-03-01). "Sequential Foraging, Itinerant Fences and Parrot Poaching in Bolivia". British Journal of Criminology. 51 (2): 314–335. doi:10.1093/bjc/azq074. ISSN 0007-0955.
  39. ^ Ruggiero, Vincenzo; South, Nigel (September 2013). "Green Criminology and Crimes of the Economy: Theory, Research and Praxis". Critical Criminology. 21 (3): 359–373. doi:10.1007/s10612-013-9191-6. ISSN 1205-8629.
  40. ^ South, Nigel (2017-07-05). White, Rob (ed.). The 'corporate colonisation of nature': 1 Bio-prospecting, bio-piracy and the development of green criminology (1 ed.). Routledge. pp. 341–358. doi:10.4324/9781315084589-21. ISBN 978-1-315-08458-9.
  41. ^ Walters, Reece (2006-01-01). "Crime, Bio-Agriculture and the Exploitation of Hunger". The British Journal of Criminology. 46 (1): 26–45. doi:10.1093/bjc/azi049. ISSN 1464-3529.
  42. ^ Walters, Reece (April 2007). "Food Crime, Regulation and the Biotech Harvest". European Journal of Criminology. 4 (2): 217–235. doi:10.1177/1477370807074856. ISSN 1477-3708.
  43. ^ Walters, Reece (December 2010). "Toxic Atmospheres Air Pollution, Trade and the Politics of Regulation". Critical Criminology. 18 (4): 307–323. doi:10.1007/s10612-010-9119-3. ISSN 1205-8629.
  44. ^ White, Rob (2014-02-03). Green Criminology: An Introduction to the Study of Environmental Harm (1 ed.). Routledge. pp. 45–59. doi:10.4324/9780203096109. ISBN 978-0-203-09610-9.
  45. ^ White, Rob (2018-10-08). Transnational Environmental Crime (0 ed.). Willan. doi:10.4324/9780203804001. ISBN 978-1-136-63759-9.
  46. ^ White, Rob (2009-09-01). "Researching Transnational Environmental Harm: Toward an Eco-Global Criminology". International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. 33 (2): 229–248. doi:10.1080/01924036.2009.9678807. ISSN 0192-4036.
  47. ^ Brisman, Avi; South, Nigel (August 2013). "A green-cultural criminology: An exploratory outline". Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal. 9 (2): 115–135. doi:10.1177/1741659012467026. ISSN 1741-6590.
  48. ^ Nigel, South (2013). Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology. Routledge. p. 349.
  49. ^ Gibbs, C.; Gore, M. L.; McGarrell, E. F.; Rivers, L. (2010-01-01). "Introducing Conservation Criminology: Towards Interdisciplinary Scholarship on Environmental Crimes and Risks". British Journal of Criminology. 50 (1): 124–144. doi:10.1093/bjc/azp045. ISSN 0007-0955.
  50. ^ Gore, Meredith L. (2011-08-01). "The Science of Conservation Crime". Conservation Biology. 25 (4): 659–661. Bibcode:2011ConBi..25..659G. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01701.x. ISSN 1523-1739. PMID 21771074.
  51. ^ Gore, Meredith L; Ratsimbazafy, Jonah; Rajaonson, Andry; Lewis, Amanda; Kahler, Jessica S (2016-07-12). "Public perceptions of poaching risks in a biodiversity hotspot: Implications for wildlife trafficking interventions". ResearchGate. 2016 (21).
  52. ^ Gore, Meredith L.; Lute, Michelle L.; Ratsimbazafy, Jonah H.; Rajaonson, Andry (2016-04-15). "Local Perspectives on Environmental Insecurity and Its Influence on Illegal Biodiversity Exploitation". PLOS ONE. 11 (4): e0150337. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1150337G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0150337. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4833313. PMID 27082106.
  53. ^ Gore, Meredith L.; Ratsimbazafy, Jonah; Lute, Michelle L. (2013-11-01). "Rethinking Corruption in Conservation Crime: Insights from Madagascar". Conservation Letters. 6 (6): 430–438. Bibcode:2013ConL....6..430G. doi:10.1111/conl.12032. ISSN 1755-263X. S2CID 86265716.
  54. ^ Gibbs, Carole; McGarrell, Edmund F.; Axelrod, Mark (2010-08-01). "Transnational white-collar crime and risk". Criminology & Public Policy. 9 (3): 543–560. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2010.00649.x. ISSN 1745-9133.
  55. ^ Solomon, Jennifer N.; Gavin, Michael C.; Gore, Meredith L. (2015-09-01). "Detecting and understanding non-compliance with conservation rules". Biological Conservation. 189: 1–4. Bibcode:2015BCons.189....1S. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2015.04.028.
  56. ^ a b c d Bertenthal, A (2022-06-14). "The Colour of Eco-Crime". The British Journal of Criminology. 63 (3): 615–633. doi:10.1093/bjc/azac027. ISSN 0007-0955.
  57. ^ a b c Lynch, Michael J.; Stretsky, Paul B. (May 2003). "The Meaning of Green: Contrasting Criminological Perspectives". Theoretical Criminology. 7 (2): 217–238. doi:10.1177/1362480603007002414. ISSN 1362-4806. S2CID 89605388.
  58. ^ The Routledge handbook of environmental justice. Ryan B. Holifield, Jayajit Chakraborty, Gordon P. Walker. London. 2018. ISBN 978-1-315-67898-6. OCLC 994552088.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
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