Eco-imperialism
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Eco-imperialism describes the negative outcomes of the acts of environmentalists. More specifically it can be described by proponents as the imposition of western environmental views on developing coutries. A sinonym is eco-colonialism. Roy Innis chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality has argued that European Union restrictions on the use of the pesticide DDT to combat malaria are ‘killing black babies’. Proponents feel that the attitude of green groups towards Africans and Asians is deeply patronising and paternalistic. Environmentalists have counter argued that Africa is likely to be a main victim of Climate change.
Eco-imperialism is said to occur when environmentalists, particularly white environmentalists place the well-being of the environment over the well-being of humans, especially black or brown humans in the third world. Examples of eco-imperialism include the banning of genetically modified foods in a starving nation, barring the use of DDT in countries dying of malaria and introducing pollution regulations that destroy many jobs in a developing economy.
The term was popularized by Paul Driessen in his book Eco-Imperialism — Green Power, Black Death. Like the European imperialism of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Driessen claims eco-imperialists use the governments of developed countries to keep developing countries destitute for their own benefits. Through the precautionary principle, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, environmental groups legitimize their demands on government but often engender poverty and death in the process.
Driessen asserts that sometimes their demands can even cause environmental degradation. In Eco-Imperialism, Driessen points out that wind power kills birds (400 turbines killed over 7,000 birds in Spain in one year) and requires destroying hundreds of times more acres of land than a single nuclear power plant. 73,000 acres (295 km²) are required to generate 20% of the energy for the US needs with nuclear power. According to the American Wind Energy Association, to make that 20% with wind energy, 23 million acres (93,000 km²) must be converted — roughly the size of the state of Virginia.
Reference
- http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/319/
External links
- Chris Mooney, Mother Jones, May/June 2005, ["Black Gold?"] - CORE, ExxonMobil, and "eco-imperialism"
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