From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia.
Some
environmentalists take the
position that traditional methods
of social change like political
lobbying, public awareness
campaigns, and the like are
insufficient for achieving
necessary changes in the
relationship between humans and
the environment. As such,
radical environmentalists
resort to non-traditional forms of
activism.
Environmental crisis
Most radical environmentalists
take the view that destruction of
the environment is fast
approaching crisis point, and that
if serious changes are not made in
the relationship between humans
and the natural world, the health
of the planet, or at least of many
living species, are at grave risk.
Many subscribe to a philosophy
encompassing this ideal called
deep ecology.
History of Radical
Environmentalism
One of the first significant
radical environmentalist group was
Greenpeace, which made use of
direct action to confront a
variety of transgressors,
including
whaling ships and
nuclear weapons testers.
In 1980 an organization called
Earth First! was established
by Dave Foreman and others to
confront environmental
destruction, primarily of the
American West. Inspired by the
Edward Abbey novel "The Monkey
Wrench Gang", Earth First! made
use of such techniques as
treesitting and
treespiking to stop
logging companies, as well as
other activities targeted towards
mining,
road construction,
suburban development and
energy companies.
In the mid-90s, Earth First!
renounced the use of violence and
committed to using other forms of
activism to pursue the same goals.
This led to a split within the
movement, and the emergence of the
increasingly militant
Earth Liberation Front (ELF),
concommitant with the emergence of
the
Animal Liberation Front (ALF).
The ELF gained national attention
for a series of actions which
earned them the label of
ecoterrorists, including the
burning of a
ski resort in
Vail, Colorado, and the
burning of an
SUV dealership in
Oregon.
Following the
September 11, 2001 attacks
several laws were passed
increasing the penalty for
ecoterrorism, and hearings were
held in Congress discussing the
activity of groups such as the
ELF. To date no one has been
killed as a result of an ELF or
ALF action since both groups
forbid harming human or non-human
life.
