About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

38 Envtl. L. 537 (2008)
Ecoterrorism: A Critical Analysis of the Vilification of Radical Environmental Activists as Terrorists

handle is hein.journals/envlnw38 and id is 553 raw text is: ECOTERRORISM?: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE VILIFICATION OF RADICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS AS TERRORISTS BY REBECCA K. SM1TH* Radical environmental activists have played a vocal and often controversial role in the environmental protection movement by tading direct action to slow the pace of environmental destruction, empowering others to resist the forces behind environmental destruction, and publicly exposing and rdiculing environmentally destructive industries and the government that supports them. The often illegal tactics employed by these activists have cost industries mili'ons of dollars. The government and industries exposed by these activists are responding by publicly branding radical environmental activists as ecoterrorists. This Comment examines the economic and political framework behind the ecoterrorist brand, and suggests that the brand is inappropriate because it diminishes the true meaning of the word terrorism, stifles political dissent, and is being used as a pretext to ensure the protection of private economic gains at the expense of efforts to protect the environment. 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 539 II. THE CATALYST FOR RADICAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM .............................................. 540 A. E cological Problem s ........................................................................................... 540 B. Rise of Environmental Legal Tools ................................................................... 541 C. Rise of Environmental Organizations ............................................................... 542 D. Radical Environm entalsm ................................................................................. 543 III. DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF THE PHRASE ECOTERRORISM .......................................... 545 A Property Rights Group Creates the Term Ecoterrorism . ............................ 545 B. 1988 Congressional Testimony Calls Earth First!Activists 'E coterrorlists ...................................................................................................... 546 * J.D., Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law and Masters of Science in Environmental Science, expected May 2008, University of Montana School of Law. The author is currently Valedictorian for the Class of 2008, Business Editor of the Public Lands and Resources Law Review, and Law Clerk for Forest Defense, P.C. The author wishes to thank civil libertarian and mentor Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center for her courageous work protecting the rights of radical activists. The author also wishes to acknowledge and thank the prisoner support networks that provide a lifeline to political prisoners worldwide. [537]

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most