6 years ago

Mass Incarceration Associated with Increased Industrial Emissions Study Finds

Author Bio

Ian Carey is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Environment and Society Program. He... Read More

African American Man in Prison - upset man guilty

A study out of Portland State University has drawn a connection between mass incarcerations in the United States and a rise in industrial emissions. The study illustrates 3 social patterns from prisons that increase emissions:

The incentivizing of industrial development through the construction of new prisons and the maintenance of existing ones.
The production of materials through the use of prison labor.
The low cost of prison labor leading to increased economic development.

“As we shift the population into prisons, we see a clear impact on how economic development contributes to emissions,” said Julius McGee, the study’s lead author and professor of urban and Black studies at Portland State University.

Over 2.3 million people are housed in American prisons, more than any other country in the world. The United States has 600,000 more prisoners than the 2nd ranked country on that list, China. The United States also has the highest per-capita rate of imprisonment in the world, with 737 prisoners for every 100,000 people. The only other country that even comes close to approaching the same rate of imprisonment is Russia, which averages 615 prisoners for every 100,000 people.

936 prisons have been built in the United States since 1980. Only 711 prisons had been built in the previous 168 years.

“This is housing infrastructure that otherwise wouldn’t have been built,” McGee continued. He’d also say the environmental footprint of prisoners is often larger than what they had been before they were incarcerated. This comes due to the production of beds, clothing, furniture, and hygiene products that the prison produces to house inmates.

Perhaps the biggest cause of the increased emissions associated with mass incarceration comes from the use of prison labor. Prisoners are paid very little or sometimes not at all for the work they do while incarcerated. This contributes to increased economic development as companies are not required to pay a living wage to employees and the increased industrial emissions that come with that.

“Industrial manufacturing has exploited workers, consumers, and the environment by continually reducing the cost of labor, increasing the demand of industrial goods, and increasing the use of fossil fuels,” the study reads. “Incarceration allows these patterns to continue unabated, and in many instances provides the tools necessary to accelerate the pace at which such patterns recur.”