Post-Colonialism and The Empire of Climate Change

The marks of empire and global capitalism are deep and dark when we consider the various aspects of climate change.

Former colonies and current  less developed countries  (LDCs in Development parlance) suffer the brunt of anthropogenic climate change while the former masters of empire and current developed world profited from the industries that created climate change.

Neo-imperial relationships  manifest in the global climate change governance regime.

On top of these recognized imperial dimensions of climate change we need to recognize that anthropogenic climate change is  itself a colonizing force in environmental and governance circles, crowding out other issues and concerns.

Anthropogenic climate change is an avatar of the current environmental crisis, but it alone does not begin to capture the enormity of the environmental destruction we, the human collective, are inflicting on the world.

Mercury Emissions are just one of the myriad environmental disasters-in-the-making.  But are recently developed  international treaty to curb mercury emissions, (see the  final text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury), seemingly has NO IMPACT on U.S. domestic dumping of mercury into Lake Michigan by BP.

The BP plant is in Whiting, Indiana.  Whiting is on a small spit of land in the extreme northwest corner of Indiana.  It is closer to Chicago than to Indianapolis and most Hoosiers probably have never heard of the town.

In an unholy union of pollution-making, BP is using its Whiting plant to refine tar sands oil.  Tar sands are hugely polluting in their production and in their burning.  The BP refinery has secured a variance from the Indiana state government that allows 20 times the mercury emissions normally allowed by national standards.

Is this actually legal?  It is under Indiana law, but what about under national and international law? The illegality of transboundary harm is the bedrock of international environmental law, but Canada is not likely to protest emissions caused by the processing of its prized cash-cow-tar-sands-oil.

Could Illinois be enticed to sue the state of Indiana?  Could the EPA intervene?

Look for further posts as this issue develops.