Ecotage :: Environmental Activism Essays

Ecotage In recent decades, as environmental loss has grown as fast as our population, hundreds of plans, programs, groups and organizations have been established in order to uncover and solve the causes of world-wide environmental destruction. Many of these programs are initiated and funded by federal, state and local government and are mainly targeted at general problems and result in minimal success. Other groups have been formed by private parties who usually hold more compassion and concern for the causes they are working for. However, these organizations are easily hindered by political resistance and result in equally discouraging results. Of course, there have been many instances in which environmental groups have attained victory through political debates and litigation; yet the amount of failed attempts far outweighs the victories. Political debating is incredibly difficult due to the power and financial support given to politicians by special interest groups. However, there is one other form of activism which has had an incredible success rate, at least in gaining attention and forcing their voices to be heard. This form of activism, commonly referred to as ecotage, focuses precisely on the activities of companies and industries which seriously damage the environment. These actions are never aimed at harming individuals, while private property is for the destroying. One common act of ecotage is the driving of long metal spikes vertically through the base of trees. Subsequently, as the logger attempts to saw the 'spiked' tree, the chain on the saw snaps, thus delaying the murder of the tree as well as causing a financial burden for the individual or company. Other activities involve ruining bulldozers by adding sand or similar abrasives to the gasoline, which results in seized bulldozer engines. In times of increased urgency for the protection of our remaining ecosystems, organizations such as Greenpeace and Earth First! have proven their ability to be effective and have their voices heard regarding the permanent preservation of our dwindling environment. While Greenpeace has been the traditional radical environmentalist group of the 70's and 80's, modern, revolutionary type activists feel the 'peace' is now a higher priority than the 'green'. Earth First!, started by Dave Forman, has become the front-runner in civil disobedience and direct, non-violent environmental activism. Their principles are simple, "It is a belief in biocentrism, or Deep Ecology, and a practice of putting our beliefs into action" (Unclaimed, 1997 [see references]). Earth First! feels no regard for the well-being of anyone or thing except the environment and its natural inhabitants, thus the name Earth First!.