Environmetnal Crime

Environmental Crime

Economic globalization and the demanding competition it often creates in economies that were previously mostly local can potentially have devastating environmental effects. Additionally, it is also not uncommon to see these new globalized economies in places where resources are abundant, places where the last vestiges of resources exist that have not yet been depleted by human use or urban sprawl. Yet, economic globalization has the potential to change that, as individuals and groups seek to sell off or use resources to compete on a scale never before seen in their area. Because, according to the laws of supply and demand raw materials are rewarded less than finished goods, and many of these places are rich in raw goods, and land which is used to expand agricultural and/or mining pursuits at the whim of the global market. What then ensues is often deforestation, pollution and a whole ensuing environmental degradation. The environmental challenge of deforestation is not a new phenomenon, though it has significantly increased in speed and intensity over the last half a century. (Williams, 2001, p. 30) Deforestation is a foundational environmental problem, which can depending on its severity bring many more environmental problems in its wake. The natural resource of trees has consistently been associated with the progress of the human race, as the wood provides a resource that is diverse and almost entirely free of waste, to help humans develop, build houses, plant crops, make paper and so forth. The problem then becomes how to balance the amount of wood and/or land needed with the degradation created by removing it. In the name of human progress and greed for example, the forests of Central and South America are being completely destroyed and in so doing causing countless other environmental problems. (Williams, 2001, p. 30)

These are the harsh facts: the tropical forests are being leveled for commercial purposes at the rate of 150,000 square kilometers a year, an area the size of England and Wales combined. At this rate, the world's tropical forests could be entirely destroyed within seventy-three years. Already as much as a fifth or a quarter of the huge Amazon forest, which constitutes a third of the world's total rain forest, has been cut, and the rate of destruction is accelerating. (Skinner, 1985, p.25)

In Central and South America there are examples of rainforests that have sustained entire diverse ecosystems, filtering water, providing oxygen to other living things, sheltering diverse flora and fauna and providing a shelter for the soil, from heat and rain for millions of years. Without the trees as cover the climate change can be intense, as the soil washes into streams, rivers and then the ocean, changing the pattern of natural filtration, the sun beats down on newly uncovered plants and soil and leaves many animals with little or no shelter from the elements and likely little to eat. The economic market dictates how much instant return an individual or group can gain from clearing land, which only rarely has the ability to recover, without much more costly intervention. When trees are cut down in a sustainable manner or when undergrowth is burned by fire in a regenerative manner the system can recover, and in fact usually does rather quickly, but when extreme deforestation occurs, by the slash and burn plan the system cannot adequately absorb the changes. "The scale of such operations is a far cry from the traditional slash-and-burn practiced by native jungle groups, which is done on a scale small enough so that the forest can successfully reclaim the farmed areas." (Skinner, 1985, p.25)

The tactics being utilized to clear forests, to claim lumber and clear land for beef production, mining, large scale agriculture is usually an additional burden on the ecosystem which can cause additional damage and often involves toxic chemicals that render the land sterile, leading to extreme and instantaneous soil degradation, water pollution and clear contamination that renders native plants completely helpless and the soil incapable of being regenerated by sustainable planting. (Skinner, 1985, p.25) in such places where economic globalization create progress and economic growth people live longer and healthier lives, which would normally be a good thing, but is a mark of overpopulation, which further stresses the global environment of necessary resources. Regional environments can often not sustain the level of population growth that is occurring, and so the population spreads to met new demands, further taxing the environment. This can be a problem in developing nations as well as more developed nations as in developing nations

Williams discusses the fact that another environmental problem, overpopulation is the biggest source of concern, as it is the increased numbers of people, resulting from a healthy trend and a temperate climate, can not be sustained by the regional environment and all those seeking to sustain larger families, through traditional means are likely to fail, which will result in a humanitarian catastrophe already hinted at by sociologists. One issue that furthers deforestation, and its wake is overpopulation creating urban and unsustainable rural sprawl, and in developed nations this means fuel, often wood, while in urban areas it means more fossil fuels. (Williams, 2001, p. 30) Water pollution, soil depletion and other issues are all tied in to this phenomena as is global mining and drilling for elements and fossil fuels. Another issue associated with deforestation and water pollution is mining, which is very active in the Amazon basin and accounts for one more example of human progress taking place without real practical concern for the environment. (Andersen, Granger, Reis, Weinhold & Wunder, 2002, p. 85)