When criminal psychologist, Dr Julia Shaw, combed through thousands of green crime cases she found a common pattern, a psychological profile for the people committing environmental crimes. She calls them the ‘six pillars of environmental crime’: ease, impunity, greed, rationalisation, conformity, and desperation. These pillars can be applied across different types of green crimes, from corporate fraud, to organised crime, to cases of hit men hired to kill environmental defenders. Understanding these pillars ...

Environmental Concerns & Amazon's Significance - The Amazon basin, shared by eight countries, spans over 7 million square kilometers, almost the size of Europe, holding rich biodiversity [3][4] - The Amazon produces 20% of the world's oxygen, holds 20% of the world's fresh waters, 60% of tropical forests, and 10% of all animal and plant species [5][6] - The Amazon can absorb over 2 billion tons of CO2 annually, about 5% of global emissions, but deforestation is approaching a tipping point [6][7] - Deforestation has reached 17-20%, with the tipping point at 25%, potentially causing the rainforest to become a savannah-like ecosystem that releases CO2 [7][8] Threats & Environmental Crime - Illegal mining in areas like the Orinino mining arc in Venezuela, covering approximately 112,000 square kilometers (the size of Portugal), leads to environmental and humanitarian crises [13][14] - Environmental crime, including illegal mining, logging, land grabbing, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, is a vast network spanning the Amazon rainforest [17] Solutions & Call to Action - The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, comprising eight Amazonian nations, signed the Bellon declaration prioritizing security in the Amazon [21][22] - COP 30, the UN's climate change conference, will take place in the Amazon in Belém, Brazil, providing a platform for global leaders to address the issue [22] - Consumers can support environmentally friendly products with certifications like the Rainforest Alliance [24] - A call to action urges young people to push policymakers to cooperate and address the complex network of environmental crime [25][26]