Corruption

Corruption is both the reason Atchafalaya Basinkeeper was created and the main threat to, not only the Atchafalaya Basin, but ABK as well. If our agencies were enforcing the law and some environmental groups were not ignoring or supporting the problems, there would have never been the need for Atchafalaya Basinkeeper. This is what everyone should know about the different types of corruption.

Regulatory capture is a form of government failure that occurs when a regulatory agency, created to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating. When regulatory capture occurs the interests of firms or political groups are prioritized over the interests of the public, leading to a net loss to society as a whole. Those government agencies are called "captured agencies".

Greenwashing is when a company, government or other group promotes green-based environmental initiatives or images but actually operates in a way that is damaging to the environment or in an opposite manner to the goal of the announced initiatives. This can also include misleading customers about the environmental benefits of a product through misleading advertising and unsubstantiated claims.

•         Non-Governmental-Groups (NGOs) greenwash when they help create the perception that something damaging to the environment is good for the environment or when they help create the perception that everything is ok while the reality is that environmental damage is taking place.

•         There are two types of NGO greenwashing: Passive greenwashing and active greenwashing.

•         Passive greenwashing: The NGO helps create the perception that everything is OK by not addressing any threats, ignoring the problems and acting like everything is OK. Passive greenwashing can be very effective because those groups usually receive large amount of money from special interest groups and corporations and they can afford big marketing campaigns that reach big sections of the population. People get the feeling that everything must be OK or else these groups would be addressing the problems 

•         Active greenwashing. The NGO actively will side with special interest groups or corporations openly saying that something is green when it is not or that some activity will not damage the environment when in reality it will.