The Environmental Crime Had Many Cooks, But Who Will Pay?

A couple of weeks ago, an environmental crime took place in Finland that has garnered massive attention in Finnish media. It involved the destruction of a river inhabited by the protected freshwater pearl mussel, caused by repeatedly driving a forestry machine over it hundreds of times.

The case came to light because there happened to be an outsider present at the scene, who pointed out the issue to the machine operator, only to receive a response filled with foul language and a statement that they would continue working as before. Since then, the case has led to a police investigation, but the outcome is not yet known.

In practice, the forest had been purchased by Stora Enso, a Finnish-Swedish forest industry company. It had contracted the forestry work to a harvesting contractor, who in turn had subcontracted the job. The crime itself was committed by an employee of this subcontractor.

However, Finnish news coverage has largely focused on Stora Enso's potential liability in the incident. It hasn't helped that the company has given an open mandate to repair whatever can be repaired at its expense and has suspended wood procurement from all sites known to have environmental restrictions. Additionally, it has reported one site to the authorities where the company suspects illegal activity may have taken place.

As I mentioned earlier, the matter is under police investigation, which will eventually determine who is responsible. Right now, however, it seems to me that Stora Enso has been unfairly placed in the spotlight, as the available information suggests that the company provided proper instructions to the contractor, but the operator did not follow them and continued illegal activity after being warned about it.

In any case, the destruction of freshwater pearl mussels has a price under Finnish law – 589 euros per individual – so the destruction of potentially thousands of animals could lead to compensation exceeding a million euros. It remains to be seen whether Stora Enso, the main contractor, the subcontractor, or the machine operator will be held financially responsible.

Aiempia ajatuksia samasta aihepiiristä:
Will Orpo's Government Restore Finland to Sustainable Economic Growth?
Forests in Indonesia and Finland
A new justification is needed for environmental activists

Discrimination against women?

As my esteemed reader is aware, gender-related issues are currently a prominent subject of discussion. In light of this, it was delightful to come across a recent study that provided fresh and surprising insights on the matter.

Traditionally, gender discrimination has been widely regarded as a significant contributor to women's disadvantages in the labor market. However, previous studies have produced mixed results due to variations in research designs, making it challenging to compare discrimination estimates across countries.

To address this challenge, the researchers conducted a comparative field experiment on gender discrimination in hiring across six countries. By directly comparing employers' responses to fictional male and female applicants, they were able to draw intriguing conclusions.

Despite variations in crucial institutional, economic, and cultural aspects among the participating countries, the researchers found no evidence of discrimination against women. However, they did observe discrimination against men in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK, while no discrimination against men was found in Norway and the United States.

Even within diverse institutional contexts, employers tended to perceive female applicants as more suitable for roles in female-dominated occupations, all other factors being equal. However, the researchers found no evidence to support the claim that employers prefer male applicants in any location.

Hence, the researchers concluded that the well-known differences in salary between genders likely stem from women and men choosing different types of jobs rather than employers discriminating against women, as sometimes alleged.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The change in the demographic structure of Helsinki
Afghanistan now and in the future
Sexual harassment and bullying in working life