Soc Inequality Blog #4- Green Collar Crime

Blog #4 Green Collar Crime

       We have one earth to live on.  We do not seem to take care of it or respect it.  Often you may hear about an oil spill or environmental accident that happens and think, "Someone should be held responsible for this."  Good news and bad news regarding that. Good news, someone does get held responsible. Bad news, the punishment is not nearly strong enough.  This type of crime is called a green collar crime. Green collar crime is any crime that is done against the environment. These crimes include things like: deforestation, air pollution, water pollution, dumping of hazardous waste, and species decline.  This is a crime that can be enforced across national borders on a global basis but is usually enforced by local federal governments. Mos often it is done by corporations and they are fined base don negligence when found guilty of their crimes.

      One such example is in Bophal India an explosion happened at Union Carbide.  It took 25 years but seven officials were sent to prison and the corporation was heavily fined. The video above outlines the crime and what green collar crime is.
     In the United States the federal law is responsible for green collar crime. The law uses an intricate system of laws and permits.  Companies must have permits to conduct certain businesses and to deal with certain materials. Although it is not always enforced strictly. In California however, state law regulates environmental crime and it is strictly enforced.
     One of the worst examples of green collar crime in the United States is the BP oil spill.  This spill happened on Tuesday April tenth in 2010.  This is the largest oil spill in U.S. history. 3.19 million barrels of oil spilled. The oil spill was precursor by an explosion on an oil-rig off the coast of Louisiana. This spill polluted the gulf and continued to leak for eighty-seven days and killed eleven people.  The oil spread to a point where there was a 22 mile long oil plume.  It is estimated that as much as twenty percent of the oil found its way to the seafloor damaging sea corals and the unseen ecosystems of the ocean floor. Today, researchers continue to work to understand the impact of this spill on the environment.  This effected the marine life and all surrounding inhabitants. BP and five states ended up settling for $18.5 billion in fines and restitution from the clean water act and various claims.  Although the full impact is still unknown and it can never be restored to the way it was before.  What can be most frustrating is that this fine is mostly tax deductible so, it allows them to write it off as well.

Works Cited

Brennan, Linda Crotta. The Gulf Oil Spill. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Pub., 2013. Print.

"Environmental Crimes." History Learning Site. Learning History, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.

Kennedy, Charles. "Most Of BP's $20.8 Billion Deepwater Horizon Fine Is Tax Deductible." OilPrice.com. N.p., 07 Oct. 2015. Web. 15 May 2017.

O'hear, Michael M. "Sentencing the Green Collar Offender." HeinOnline. HEIN Online, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.

Soc 411 Blog #3 Rational Choice Theory

Soc 411 Blog #3 -Rational Choice Theory

 

           Have you ever read about a crime and thought to yourself, "Who would do that? Why would people do that?"  Well, chances are, you have. Your either in my Criminology class or came across this blog because your searching criminology information. I often wondered this before learning about Rational Choice Theory. I often thought about why people might choose to sell drugs, or break into someone's home.  This theory gives an explanation for that. This theory is based on the idea of people who commit crimes. The theory asserts that people make rational choices when committing crimes.
          One of the most important details of rational choice theory is that people will weigh possible pleasure against possible pain. Then they will make their decision for action. This is termed Hedonistic calculus. Like in the video with the burglar weighing out the possibility getting caught burglarizing a home. It is from the perspective of desire and preference (Wortley and Townsley, 2017:21).
      This theory is not without it's weakness though, as with any theory. Also as explained in the video one of the holes in this theory is that everyone is acting rationally. Crimes of passion or crimes without forethought may or may not be accounted for in this theory.  Although this can explain many different situations. So it limits itself to crimes that have hedonistic calculus present.
       Another example that is used with this theory is corporate or sometimes called "White Collar Crime".  An example of some of these crimes are: price-fixing, toxic dumping, and insider trading.  These crimes will better an individual and/or corporation.  Some may remember Martha Stewart was convicted of insider trading. This is the type of crime where a persons desires and preference out weigh the risk. One of the token details of this type of crime is that the person committing this type of crime is often not in a situation where it is for survival and the crime is committed due to desire of the reward outweighs the possible punishment of the crime (Clark, 2008:37-38). 

     For myself, this gave me some perspective on why some crimes may be committed. I thought of debt much like these crimes. Our society is known for being in great debt. Often it is done through the use of credit, which in fact is money being borrowed that a person doesn't have. I am reminded of times where I wanted the instant gratification of having something and wanting it so badly that I charged it to a card that I couldn't pay back. When the initial high of the purchase wore off I was stuck with the consequences of debt.  Or further back in my life in middle school, when I shoplifted. I wanted makeup and certain clothes so badly and I wanted to fit in.  So, when a new friend said we could shoplift and showed me how, I weighed the consequences and decided to do it. (I now regret it) So I ask you? Does this help you understand why someone may commit some types of crime?  Have you ever wanted something so bad, that you didn't care what had to be done? 
 
Amadae, S.M. "Rational Choice Theory." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., n.d. Web. 04 May 2017.

Clarke, Ronald V. Routine Activity and Rational Choice. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publ., 2008. Print.

Legal, Inc. US. "USLegal." Rational-Choice Theory [Criminology] Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc. US Legal, n.d. Web. 04 May 2017.

"The Rational Choice Theory of Criminology." Study.com. Study.com, n.d. Web. 04 May 2017.

Wortley, Richard, and Michael Townsley. Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. Print.