Atmospheric Justice: Visualizing Atmospheric Harm by the Global Space Exploration Industry using Treadmill of Production Theory

Abstract

A major problem for climate change is the anthropogenic damage caused to Earth’s climate, atmosphere and ozone. While green criminologists have focussed heavily on activities that contribute toward climate change - such as fossil fuel use and illegal logging and deforestation - few have considered the direct release of fossil fuels at the atmospheric location. Launching rockets into outer space causes direct atmospheric emissions pollutions. Even more worryingly these practices, whilst extremely damaging, are perfectly legal. The space sector is also growing exponentially. This chapter will focus exclusively on space exploration and the damage caused to Earth’s atmosphere through direct atmospheric pollution practices. Treadmill of Production theory will be utilised as a theoretical framework to analyse contemporary expansion of the space industry and its subsequent impact on air pollution and Earth’s atmospheric layers.