The failure of deterrence in environmental law: Why the modernization of criminal enforcement will not stop ecological disorganization

Paul Stretesky, Michael Lynch, Michael Long, Kimberly Barrett

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

    Abstract

    This paper tests the assumption that criminal enforcement reflects and promote ecological modernization in the United States between the years of 1988 and 2013 in the case of toxic releases. Data come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Toxic Release Inventory. We discover little to no correlation between environmental enforcement and modernization; toxic releases are more likely to correspond to national and global trends in production. The rule of law does not reflect or promote environmental sustainability and suggest, instead, that enforcement efforts should be focused on reducing production as opposed to promoting deterrence as a way to ensure more sustainable production.
    Original languageEnglish
    Publication statusPublished - Sept 2014
    Event14th Annual Conference of European Society of Criminology - Prague
    Duration: 1 Sept 2014 → …
    http://www.eurocrim2014.com/

    Conference

    Conference14th Annual Conference of European Society of Criminology
    Period1/09/14 → …
    Internet address

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