The Human Consequences of Ecological Violence and Corporate Victimization

Abstract

An area of ongoing development within international criminal justice has been “green” criminology. Green criminology examines a range of environmental justice concerns that impact local communities as much as the global village. Green criminology often refers to the ecological consequences that arise from the crimes of the powerful. What has, however, been neglected in that approach are the ways in which the forms of ecological harm and injustice associated with the green crimes of the powerful also produce psychological consequences that debilitate people. Beyond the problem of attending to residents traumatized by environmental (e.g., the Gulf Oil spill) disasters, what role should psychiatry/psychology assume as an evidence-based public sector voice for political activism and justice policy reform? This editorial identifies several strategic areas where the ongoing relationship and delicate balance between people and place is devastated because of corporate globalized interests. The essay suggests that these strategic areas represent a novel basis for advancing a public sector psychology whose clinical research, practice, and pedagogy would specifically address the human consequences of ecological violence and corporate victimization. Green crimes include various forms of violence that directly impact ecological stability. This violence produces secondary harm affecting human and nonhuman species that inhabit these ecosystems. For example, green crimes produce numerous public health consequences for communities, and these consequences can vary in type and intensity for people in different geographical regions. In economically “advanced” (dominant/dominating) societies, a great deal of green harm comes in the form of industrial pollution. For instance, in 2012, U.S. firms required to report waste releases and transfers indicated producing 24.7 billion pounds of waste. This included hazardous chemicals that affected peoples’ health resulting in diseases such as cancer. Moreover, studies outside of criminology indicate that some hazardous waste products can alter behavior. Within these “advanced” nations, the greatest physical and mental health burdens resulting from toxic exposure to hazardous pollutants are differentially