Corporations, through guidance of new laws, in the future in the United States, should be held more accountable for environmental crimes, because without these new laws corporations will continue to pay meniscal fines and serve little to no time in prisons for destroying the environment in which we have to live and survive. Corporations throughout history have lived within the protection of the government. The reason I say this is because throughout history corporations got away with literally murdering our environment by following weak laws and having very few standards. The action of corporations only changed when society began to have an issue with breathing bad air, drinking water which made us sick and chemical causing cancers and other illnesses being released into the environment. The reason this changed was due to people rising up and demanding more from our elected officials and our corporations. A huge step forward in holding companies accountable was the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 by presidential order. It was President Nixon believe or not that created the agency. The reason the EPA was born was due to a fire which happen on the Cuyahoga River in Ohio in 1969. The reason the river catches fire was due to it being so polluted and just a year later Nixon signed the presidential order to create the EPA. Another by-product of the Cuyahoga River fire was the passing of the Clean Water and the great Lakes Quality Agreement and this was the beginning of having higher standards and regulations in protecting the environment thru new laws. Another good law that was signed by President Nixon was the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970. This act requires all federal organizati... ... middle of paper ... ...ervous system damage in animal studies, still remains in use today. Criminal enforcement of the environmental regulations has radically gotten bigger ever since the passing of the Superfund law in the 1980. This law gave prosecutors the ammo to go after corporation’s executives, managers and low level workers. In the eyes of the EPA stronger laws is what helps deter corporations from violating environmental rules and regulations. But I fell that the punishment should be in line with as though they have sold a kilo of cocaine and then it will make an even bigger difference, because these billion dollars companies doesn’t fear a fine most of them would write it off on their taxes and would gladly do the twelve or so months of federal prison time. But in their eyes they are the ones getting over because they just made money by not doing the right thing.
Exxon/Mobil, one of the nation’s leading oil producers, has its main refinery located in Beaumont, Texas. Each year, the residents of Beaumont/Port Arthur have to contend with the 39,000 pounds of pollution spewed each year by the Exxon refinery. Exxon’s emissions are 385% above the state refinery average. In 1999, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Committee (TNRCC) allowed the plant to increase their emissions, without allowing the public to have a say in the matter. Interestingly, 95% of the people living near the plant are of African American descent and are in the poverty range. Some believe that this, along with the lack of education in the area, allows Exxon to get away with such high emissions. Residents in nearby neighborhoods have been complaining of headaches, nausea, eye, and throat irritation for years. Since 1997, Mobil has repeatedly violated health standards in its emissions of two key air pollutants: sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, These “rotten egg” smells are so strong, one can smell it through a car driving past the refinery. After numerous complaints and one record of a refinery worker becoming unconscious because of the fumes, the EPA awarded Exxon with a $100,000 environmental justice grant in October of 1998. Hopefully, Exxon has put the money to good use and cleaned up their emissions.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates air pollution through various policies passed through the Supreme Court. The scope of this paper is to investigate the Clean Air Act of 1970, and to analyze the impact it has on businesses and society. It provides a rationale for the policy, and contains a brief overview of governmental involvement in regulating air pollution. Further investigation identifies key stakeholders in business, government, and society, and assesses the pros and cons of regulating air pollution. Finally, the paper concludes with limitations of this analysis and recommendations for future action.
Kenneth Schiff wrote an editorial for the Marine Pollution Bulletin in 2014 where he asked environmental scientist about the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act. Three topics were discussed to support their approval; The Cuyahoga River, Platform A and declines in marine life. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio had hit a point 1969 where there was so much oil on the surface of that it caught on fire and now it has been deemed as fishable by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, thanks to the Clean Water Act. Platform A was located in Southern California. In 1969, an explosion occurred, causing 100,000 barrels of oil to devastate beaches along the Pacific Ocean and kill thousands of animals located in this region. Also discussed was the effects of hazardous substances, in this example DDT, on marine life. The use of this pesticide caused brown pelicans and California sea lions to experience intense decline in population- thanks to the Clean Water Act being followed by much research, restrictions and bans were able to be placed on these chemicals, allowing these populations to flourish once more. Within this editorial, there is also many who state that this Act has not been effective enough. One big argument is that the EPA has a list of pollutants that has not changed since the 1970’s yet in the last 40 years, there has
Senator Henry M. Jackson proposed and helped write S 1075, the bill that eventually became the National Environmental Policy Act.The Environmental Protection Agency was formed by President Nixon in 1970 after the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was passed. It combined the Federal Water Quality Administration and the US Public Health Service into one entity, and William D. Ruckelshaus was appointed the first administrator. Administrator Ruckelshaus served from 1970 to 1973 (and later from 1983 to 1985) and was focused on strengthening the agency’s organization and structure.During his early tenure he oversaw a seven month long investigation on DDT, a carcinogenic pesticide, after which he instituted a ban of DDT DDT was the pesticide featured in Rachel Carson’s 1962 book ‘Silent Spring’ as a threat to wildlife, and perhaps to
white-collar crime” (Shapiro, S. P.). It is no surprise to anyone that positions of trust regularly decentralize to corporations, occupations, and “white-collar” individuals. Nevertheless, the concept of “white-collar crime” involves a false relationship between role-specific norms and the characteristics of those who typically occupy these roles. Most of the time, it is the offender that is looked at more than the crime itself and assumptions about the individuals automatically come into play. It has be to acknowledged that “ class or organizational position are consequential and play a more complex role in creating opportunities for wrongdoing and in shaping and frustrating the social control process than traditional stereotypes have allowed” (Shapiro, S. P.). The opportunities to partake in white-collar crime and violate the trust in which ones position carries are more dependent upon the individuals place in society, not just the work place. The ways in which white-collar criminals establish and exploit trust are an important factor in truly exploring and defining the concept of white-collar crime.
Today, worldwide, there are several thousands of crimes being committed. Some don’t necessarily require a lethal weapon but are associated with various types of sophisticated fraud, this also known as a white-collar crime. These crimes involve a few different methods that take place within a business setting. While ethical business practices add money to the bottom line, unethical practices are ultimately leading to business failure and impacting the U.S. financially.
Why does white collar and corporate crime tend to go undetected, or if detected not prosecuted? White collar and corporate crimes are crimes that many people do not associate with criminal activity. Yet the cost to the country due to corporate and white collar crime far exceeds that of “street” crime and benefit fraud. White collar and corporate crimes refer to crimes that take place within a business or institution and include everything from tax fraud to health and safety breaches. Corporate crime is extremely difficult to detect for many reasons.
Congress enacted legislation now known as the Clean Water Act. During the Truman era, originally called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The bill Congress passed in 1972 was an overhaul of the original act. The Clean Water Act set limits on the amount of pollutants industries and cities could discharge and gave the Environmental Protection Agency the power to sue and penalize polluters that exceeded those limits. Congress banned DDT, reduced emissions and sued major cities.
A corporation was originally designed to allow for the forming of a group to get a single project done, after which it would be disbanded. At the end of the Civil War, the 14th amendment was passed in order to protect the rights of former slaves. At this point, corporate lawyers worked to define a corporation as a “person,” granting them the right to life, liberty and property. Ever since this distinction was made, corporations have become bigger and bigger, controlling many aspects of the economy and the lives of Americans. Corporations are not good for America because they outsource jobs, they lie and deceive, and they knowingly make and sell products that can harm people and animals, all in order to raise profits.
...crimes rather than on street crimes. Rarely will you hear of these crimes on the news until after sentencing has taken place. Unfortunately, corporations can easily afford to pay thousands or even millions of dollars in penalties and fines therefore penalties need to be increased greatly. Due to corporate power, white collar crime is hard to prove even once it is suspected. Determining who began the crime and trying to persuade a jury whom already has a hard time understanding the complexity of these types of crimes can be difficult.
In the United States, corporate powers and private interest groups have been allowed to take far to much control over the creation and enforcement of environmental regulations and policy. This overstepping of boundaries has influenced the actions of politicians on every level, but one dangerous overstep is into the world of environmental politics. Corporations and private interest groups have a lot to lose if stringent environmental policy goes into place in the United States, and therefore these groups are willing, and unfortunately able, to fight back.
Our Congress created the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969 in order to establish an environmental foundation for mankind. This policy endorses harmony between humans and the vast ecosystems surrounding them. To obtain this goal and provide our future with resources as well, NEPA is separated into two titles. The first title declares the policy in detail while the second title focuses on the Council on Environmental Quality. The CEQ oversees the effectiveness of current methods, the reactions of the environment to those methods, and implements revisions as necessary.
It is known that corporations play a large part in making the world go around. Many times we read, hear or see stories on companies and why something was done a certain way. The film “The Corporation” has given a whole new insight to not only how businesses operate but what motivates them and their decisions that they make to keep their businesses thriving.
If we pay attention to the national occurrence we have a list of corporation that engages in environmental crimes. The top industries prosecuted by the Department of Justice are petrochemical, pharmaceutical and automobile manufacturing. (Simon 2000) Chemical manufacturing generates tons of toxic waste ann...
Although there was legislation prior to 1973, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was the most wide reaching and important pieces of environmental legislation that passed in the 1970's. Following a string of environmental disasters, citizens became more aware and started to demand environmental legislation. From Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962, to the inaugural Earth day in 1970 with about 20 million attendees, environmental issues started to receive “massive exposure. This exposure helped consolidate a growing public awarene...