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Crime’s carbon footprint leaving its impact

There are lots of different ways of coming at a fundamental truth. Sir Isaac Newton told us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. They say that there are no free lunches. Einstein described an aspect of quantum physics that he called “spooky action at a distance” wherein entangled particles remain connected so that actions performed on one particle affect the other, even when the particles are separated by great distances. However you dress it up these theories are all affirming the same thing; nothing, no action, no particle, nothing takes place without affecting other things. Nothing exists in a vacuum. If you want one more illustration of this then consider the new study showing that crime had effects on the environment.

All human activities can have environmental impacts.

For the new study researchers performed a statistical analysis that allowed them to calculate the carbon emissions resulting from various crimes across England and Wales in 2011 and to arrive at an overall crime carbon footprint.

They found that crime during this period led to the production of over four million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the emissions from 900,000 homes. It was found that burglary was the worst offender accounting for 30 per cent of the total footprint due to the large volume of offences and the carbon emissions entailed in producing replacement goods. The criminal justice system (prisons, policing and courts) accounted for 21 per cent of the footprint.

The researchers did note that even if crime were eradicated and the money spent on it were then spent elsewhere, there would not necessarily be a drop in overall carbon emissions. However, this is not only a reminder that all human activities can have environmental impacts it is also an indicator that if we are smart and do the analysis then we may be able to make changes in our behaviour that do have environmentally protective effects.

Terry Robson

Terry Robson

Terry Robson is the Editor-in-Chief of WellBeing and the Editor of EatWell.

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