Eco-terrorism refers to acts of terrorism, violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property.[1][2]
Eco-terrorism is defined by the FBI as "the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature." [3] The FBI has credited to eco-terrorism 200 million dollars in property damage from 2003 and 2008, and a majority of states within the USA have introduced laws aimed at eco-terrorism.[4]
Activist Paul Watson, himself having been called an eco terrorist, uses the word to describe actions that harm the environment. Members of the Earth Liberation Movement and other organizations also apply that term to the actions of companies and businesses.
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Application of the term
Eco-terrorism is a controversial term.[5]
The acts described by law enforcement organizations as eco-terrorism vary widely. Many involve sabotage of equipment and unmanned facilities using arson.
Acts of civil disobedience may be described as eco-terrorism. In 2003, a conservative Texas legislative reform group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), proposed the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act" which defined an "animal rights or ecological terrorist organization" as "two or more persons organized for the purpose of supporting any politically motivated activity intended to obstruct or deter any person from participating in an activity involving animals or an activity involving natural resources."[6] The legislation has not been enacted.
Environmental Terrorism
Eco-terrorism has also been used to describe ecological destruction or environmental terrorism. Canadian environmentalist Paul Watson who when accused of eco-terrorism himself as founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society[7] countered with his own definition: "an act that terrorizes other species and threatens the ecological systems of the planet".[8] Watson accused Japanese Whalers of eco-terrorism, saying "They are the real eco-terrorists. They terrorise the environment."[9][10] David Suzuki described the former Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, as an "eco-terrorist" for failing to abide by the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.[11] Environmentalists have accused corporations ranging from ExxonMobil [12] and General Electric to McDonalds[13][14] of eco-terrorism.
In turn, supporters of the earth liberation movement have used it to describe companies and groups that carry activities that damage the environment. They argue that the term has been loosely used for people who represent no threat to life[citation needed], unlike the people whose activities they are trying to stop. [15][Full citation needed][16][17][Full citation needed]
In the case of Peter Daniel Young, the release of minks was called "animal enterprise terrorism."[citation needed]
Groups accused of ecoterrorism
Organizations that have been labeled as "eco-terrorists" in the United States include the Animal Liberation Front (ALF),[18] and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF),[18]. The FBI in 2001 named the ELF as "one of the most active extremist elements in the United States", and a "terrorist threat,"[18] although they publicly disavow harm to humans or animals.[19][20]. The Greenpeace organization has also been implicated (and in some cases indicted) in eco-terrorism and associated unlawful use of monies as well as anti-piracy laws concerning unlawful boarding of private vessels on the high seas.[21]
In a 2002 testimony to the US Congress, an FBI official mentioned the actions of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in the context of eco-terrorism.[7]
A number of "local" organizations have also been indicted under US Federal laws related to eco-terrorism. These include, among others, the group "Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty." [22]
See also
- Ecotage
- Ecoterrorism in fiction
- List of environment topics
- List of environmental organisations
- Earth Liberation Front Press Office (ELFPO)
- North American Animal Liberation Press Office (NAALPO)
- Earth Liberation Prisoner Support Network (ELPSN)
- Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group (ALFSG)
- Green Scare
- THERMCON – FBI operation against the "Evan Mecham Eco-Terrorist International Conspiracy" (EMETIC)
- Operation Backfire – FBI operation
- Craig Rosebraugh – ELF spokesman.
- Paul Watson – founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and cofounder of Greenpeace.
- Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
- Tree spiking
Ideologies
Individuals Accused of Eco-Terrorism
- Tre Arrow
- Rod Coronado
- Wiebo Ludwig
- Jeff Luers and William Cottrell
- Marie Mason
- Eric McDavid – Convicted of conspiracy to commit what the FBI labeled an eco-terrorist plot.[24]
- Daniel McGowan – Convicted of participation in an arson at a lumber company.[25]
- William C. Rodgers
- Darren Thurston
- Peter Daniel Young
- Paul Watson
- Theodore Kaczynski
References
- ^ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ecoterrorism
- ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecoterrorism
- ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation - Congressional Testimony
- ^ "Style Weekly" article.
- ^ http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=2779
- ^ ALEC - Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act
- ^ a b http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/jarboe021202.htm
- ^ Dealing with the Hypocrisy of Human Perceptions - Commentary by Paul Watson
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/16/whaling.conservation "The Guardian's" article on Japanese eco-terrorism
- ^ CDNN :: Japanese Eco-Terrorists Take Marine Patrol Officers Hostage
- ^ PM dubbed eco-terrorist
- ^ Jonathan Paul talks about his sentence and views on eco-terrorism
- ^ "Wade's War," Style Weekly, February 6, 2008
- ^ Infoshop News - Jonathan Paul: "Will The Real Eco-Terrorists Please Stand Up?"
- ^ Best, Steven, and Nocella, Anthony J. Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals. Lantern Books, 2004. ISBN 1-59056-054-X
- ^ Earth Liberation Front Press Office - Ecoterrorists
- ^ "Ecoterrorist of the Season: Shell", (Fall 2009), Resistance: Journal of the Earth Liberation Movement
- ^ a b c Congressional Testimony Testimony of James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, FBI before the House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health at February 12, 2002 "The Threat of Eco-Terrorism"
- ^ ALF Credo/Guide
- ^ Earth Liberation Front News
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ "The man, the activist", first published in Arkangel.
- ^ http://cbs13.com/local/eco.terrorist.Eric.2.483155.html
- ^ http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/33544/
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