Information AboutEco-terrorism |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ECO-TERRORISM | |
| environmentalism | |
| terrorism by genre | |
| political neologisms | |
| animal liberation front | |
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Eco-terrorism is defined by the Federal Bureau Of Investigation 's Domestic Terrorism Section 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." http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/jarboe021202.htm The term is considered to be controversial, particularly by those to whom it is applied. Many of the arguments in this respect concern what may be considered violence, and in particular whether acts which are destructive to property but avoid harm to human beings may be considered Terrorism . As a Pejorative term, "eco-terrorism" has also been used to describe legal forms of Nonviolent Protest enacted by Environmentalists . The term may have been coined by Ron Arnold , an executive at the Center For The Defense Of Free Enterprise and author of ''Ecoterror: The Violent Agenda to Save Nature''. Some authors have noted that the damage caused by environmentalist sabotage from 1980 to 1999 amounted to $42.8 million.''Why Animal Experimentation Matters: The Use of Animals in Medical Research'' (2001), by Jeffrey Paul and Ellen Frankel Paul, p.11 An alternative and unrelated definition of the term "eco-terrorism" has also been come into use, as articulated by Paul Watson , the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in a commentary criticizing Japanese Whaler s: "an act that terrorizes other species and threatens the ecological systems of the planet". ''Dealing with the Hypocrisy of Human Perceptions'' - Commentary by Paul Watson DEFINITIONS While there is no consensus on the exact definition of "", because it involves disruption of a business or governmental operation, but is directed against things, property or machines that cannot feel terror. In contrast Environmental Terrorism is defined as terrorism where the target is the environment or natural resources themselves. Acts of Civil Disobedience which are Nonviolent in nature cannot be properly referred to as "eco-terrorism", even though they might be annoying or disruptive to others. However, some proposed laws are raising civil rights concerns by using an all-encompassing definition that could be interpreted to include virtually all environmental protests, even those that would otherwise be legal. For example, a bill proposed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Texas called the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act", begins with the description, "An act relating to criminal offenses involving acts against certain activities involving animals or involving natural resources and to civil consequences arising from convictions of those offenses." The bill defines 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." Text of Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act Environmentalists have argued that "eco-terrorism" should mean the opposite of its current accepted meaning. They say that persons, companies and governments engaging in ecologically irresponsible activities such as , for instance, has described the Prime Minister of Australia , John Howard , as an "eco-terrorist" for failing to abide by the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change . Under any definition, "eco-terrorism" should be distinguished from "environmental terrorism", which is more properly described as attacks against, or using, the environment or ,'' September 12 , 2005 (login required) GROUPS The organizations most commonly labeled as “eco-terrorists” within the United States are the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), and sometimes Earth First! . The FBI in 2001 named the ELF as "one of the most active extremist elements in the United States", and a "terrorist threat". Some of these websites openly advocate tactics including Arson , Graffiti , Vandalism and property destruction. Through their actions millions of dollars of homes, equipment, and research have been willfully destroyed by ALF and ELF operations, although they publicly disavow harm to humans or animals. The American Farm Bureau alleges the existence of a financial link between People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ) and Rodney Adam Coronado 's support group FOCUS PETA Exposed on Eco-terrorism. ECOTERRORISM IN FICTION
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