States structurally subordinate environmental protection to economic growth imperatives

Evidence

Environmental initiatives usually run head-on into the imperative of states to support economic growth. In the USA, for example, every time environmental initiatives are perceived to harm economic growth, they are defeated and/or dismissed. One of the key goals of a broad discourse of environmental and ecological justice is to tap into both public and governmental discourses of economic stability, security, and legitimacy. Many argue that the concept of ecological modernization can be used to overcome the usual impasse by arguing that good environmental policy can both protect communities and nature and add to the economic bottom line (Barry 2003). But this argument has not influenced the US state to date; the Bush Jr. administration, as exemplified by its energy, transportation, environmental, defense, and foreign policies, only thinks of the environment–economy interface in zero-sum terms. — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice, 712

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the sacrifice and infrastructure material about why state-based fixes fail. — connects to: A green public sphere cultivates disagreement to provoke engagement beyond tolerance — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice:…, 717; State governments collude with polluters to secure continued foreign investment — Rob Nixon, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism…, 979; Short-term profit incentives override distant and slowly accumulating environmental harms (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Short-term profit incentives override distant and slowly accumulating environmental harms #corroborates (0.82)
• GDP as a metric conceals wealth concentration and environmental destruction #corroborates (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 93