To stop the destruction of the natural environment and more action on climate change, will individuals be increasingly drawn to radical environmental methods such as eco-terrorism?
Eco-terrorism is a misused and often misinterpreted term. It is an amalgam of civil disobedience, political activism and sabotage. Some academic writers have broadly defined it as ‘severe damage or destruction to property in defence of the environment, or to direct changes in environmental policy’.
Earth First! were one of the first eco-terrorist labelled organisations. Founded in 1979 in South-Western United States, the group went beyond tree-sitting protests to tree-spiking, cutting down billboards and pouring sand into the gas tanks of bulldozers.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (who were labelled eco-terrorists by the FBI) used direct action against Japanese whaling vessels beyond the borders of the United States.
Often the actions of groups who are labelled ‘eco-terrorists’ rarely meet the working legal definition of ‘terrorism’ in Australia. However, it’s possible that groups in the future may use, or threaten violence as a mechanism. There is definitely anger and dissatisfaction among people and a growing interest in the anti-progress / pro-environment agenda.
The Green Outlaw 