Not long ago, I blogged about Tre Arrow, an extreme environmentalist activist. Although he has denied it, many think Arrow is a part of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). I found it somewhat ironic that the organization the FBI dubbed the #1 domestic terrorist group in America has the acronym of something as whimsical as ELF.
When the Oscar nominations were announced, I noticed that one of the documentaries was If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front. I’d like to see this before the Oscars on February 26th, but it’s doubtful I will be able to. Still, I decided to find out a bit more about ELF.
ELF is not really an organization, such as we think of them. It’s a group of independent individuals and covets cells. Founded in Brighton in the United Kingdom in 1992, it doesn’t really have any leaders. People who like the group call it an eco-defense group that causes economic damage to companies that are out to destroy the environment. Those that don’t like the group reserve such phrases as “terrorists” and “guerrilla warfare.”
No one is sure when ELF made its first attack, but Earth Night 1992 was one of the first notable acts. That night, the Elves destroyed pumps, trucks, and other machinery that belonged to Fisons because they thought the company destroyed the peat bogs.
In 1996, the Elves burned down the Oregon Ranger Station as well as a ski resort in Vail, Colorado. They burned the ski resort because the company that owned it, Vail, Inc., wanted to expand into the habitat of the lynx. The damage was estimated at $12 million.
On New Year’s Eve 1999, Elves burned offices at Michigan State University because the school financed the development of GMO plants for farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. ELF felt that because these plants were genetically modified, they were harmful. Over $1 million worth of damage was done.
Over the years, luxury houses and SUVs have been burned, logging equipment has been destroyed, and power lines have been damaged, all in the name of saving the environment.
What do you think? Are they just passionate about saving the earth or are they criminals who need to be stopped?