Green Criminology, Nuclear Power and the Continuing Crimes of the American Nuclear State

• In Event: Revisiting Crimes of the American Nuclear State in the Era of Trump and Kim

Abstract

Within the fields of state crime and green criminology there is a lack of research exploring the intersection of the two bodies of literature. As Kauzlarich and Kramer (1998) identified in Crimes of the American Nuclear State, the production of nuclear weapons has led to radioactive and other hazardous wastes contaminating the air, soil, and water, often in violation of federal environmental law. Drawing parallels between state crime and green criminology, this paper will explore the environmental harms of producing nuclear power. Supplying approximately 20 percent of US electricity, nuclear power is the third largest electricity source. Proposing nuclear energy as a solution to climate change, nuclear power advocates assert that emissions from natural gas and other fossil fuels are far greater than that of nuclear power. While nuclear energy may create fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the burning of fossil fuels, the environmental and human harms posed by nuclear waste remains and warrants greater attention from critical criminologists. Working towards a criminology of nuclear issues, this paper will update and extend Kauzlarich and Kramer's insights on environmental harm resulting from the production of nuclear power.

Author

• Liz Bradshaw, Central Michigan University