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Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or their property by an environmentally oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature." The FBI attributed eco-terrorists to US $200 million in property damage between 2003 and 2008. A majority of states in the US have introduced laws aimed at penalizing eco-terrorism.
Eco-terrorism is a form of radical environmentalism that arose out of the same school of thought that brought about deep ecology, ecofeminism, social ecology, and bioregionalism.
The term ecoterrorism was not coined until the 1960s; however, the history of ecoterrorism precedes that time. Although not referred to as ecoterrorism at the time, there have been incidents in history of people using terror to protect or defend the environment. It can be seen in the War of Desmoiselles, or War of the Maidens. The War of the Demoiselles was a series of peasant revolts in response to the new forest codes implemented by the French government in 1827. In May 1829 groups of peasant men dressed in women's clothes terrorized forest guards and charcoal-makers who they felt had wrongfully taken the land to exploit it. The revolts persisted for four years until May 1832.
This particular instance is considered an act of eco-terrorism because the peasants used tactics similar to modern day eco-terrorist groups. The peasants of Ariege masked their identities and committed acts of terror. They specifically targeted government officials who infringed on the rights of the forest; however, this is considered a pre-history[clarification needed] rather than an actual act of eco-terrorism because the peasants weren't environmentalist. The peasants committed their acts to protect the environment because they felt they had a claim to it due to it being their main source of income and way of life for generations.
Instances of pre-ecoterrorism can also be found in the age of colonialism and imperialism. Native and indigenous people didn't have the same view on land as property that Europeans did. When the Europeans colonized other foreign lands they believed that the natives were not using the land properly. Land was something that was meant to be profited and capitalized off of. Oftentimes natives would engage in warfare to protect their land. This is similar to the way that modern day environmentalists fight to protect land from major corporations aiming to deforest land to build factories. An example of Europeans infringing on the rights of natives can be found in the colonial administration of Algeria. When the French colonized Algeria they took the land from natives because they believed they were not using it properly, claiming that their nomadic lifestyle was damaging to the environment in order to justify their usurping of the land; however, the natives of Algeria engaged in battles in order to try and keep their land and lifestyle.
Eco-terrorism is often defined as the use of violence to further environmental policy change. Groups matching this description are willing to inflict emotional and physical distress on their victims if they believe it will further their environmental goals. This more radical version of environmental action is illegal, as compared to its more moderate forerunner of eco-activism which is not illegal and would be classified as a form of civil disobedience and uses protests, sit ins and other civil actions to effect environmental change. Eco-terrorism can also include sabotage in the name of the environment, which is illegal as this includes crimes against property which could lead to harm to humans. In the United States, the FBI's definition of terrorism includes acts of violence against property, which makes most acts of sabotage fall in the realm of domestic terrorism.
Many radical environmentalists contest the FBI's definition of eco-terrorism for being inaccurate to other definitions of terrorism such as that of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism which states that acts of terrorism are only those purposely directed at civilians. Radical environmentalists also criticize conflation of eco-terrorism with ecotage by governments and media as rhetorical tools to take advantage of preconceived notions about terrorism and apply them to acts which do not fit what terrorism really is.
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Eco-terrorism AI simulator
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Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or their property by an environmentally oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature." The FBI attributed eco-terrorists to US $200 million in property damage between 2003 and 2008. A majority of states in the US have introduced laws aimed at penalizing eco-terrorism.
Eco-terrorism is a form of radical environmentalism that arose out of the same school of thought that brought about deep ecology, ecofeminism, social ecology, and bioregionalism.
The term ecoterrorism was not coined until the 1960s; however, the history of ecoterrorism precedes that time. Although not referred to as ecoterrorism at the time, there have been incidents in history of people using terror to protect or defend the environment. It can be seen in the War of Desmoiselles, or War of the Maidens. The War of the Demoiselles was a series of peasant revolts in response to the new forest codes implemented by the French government in 1827. In May 1829 groups of peasant men dressed in women's clothes terrorized forest guards and charcoal-makers who they felt had wrongfully taken the land to exploit it. The revolts persisted for four years until May 1832.
This particular instance is considered an act of eco-terrorism because the peasants used tactics similar to modern day eco-terrorist groups. The peasants of Ariege masked their identities and committed acts of terror. They specifically targeted government officials who infringed on the rights of the forest; however, this is considered a pre-history[clarification needed] rather than an actual act of eco-terrorism because the peasants weren't environmentalist. The peasants committed their acts to protect the environment because they felt they had a claim to it due to it being their main source of income and way of life for generations.
Instances of pre-ecoterrorism can also be found in the age of colonialism and imperialism. Native and indigenous people didn't have the same view on land as property that Europeans did. When the Europeans colonized other foreign lands they believed that the natives were not using the land properly. Land was something that was meant to be profited and capitalized off of. Oftentimes natives would engage in warfare to protect their land. This is similar to the way that modern day environmentalists fight to protect land from major corporations aiming to deforest land to build factories. An example of Europeans infringing on the rights of natives can be found in the colonial administration of Algeria. When the French colonized Algeria they took the land from natives because they believed they were not using it properly, claiming that their nomadic lifestyle was damaging to the environment in order to justify their usurping of the land; however, the natives of Algeria engaged in battles in order to try and keep their land and lifestyle.
Eco-terrorism is often defined as the use of violence to further environmental policy change. Groups matching this description are willing to inflict emotional and physical distress on their victims if they believe it will further their environmental goals. This more radical version of environmental action is illegal, as compared to its more moderate forerunner of eco-activism which is not illegal and would be classified as a form of civil disobedience and uses protests, sit ins and other civil actions to effect environmental change. Eco-terrorism can also include sabotage in the name of the environment, which is illegal as this includes crimes against property which could lead to harm to humans. In the United States, the FBI's definition of terrorism includes acts of violence against property, which makes most acts of sabotage fall in the realm of domestic terrorism.
Many radical environmentalists contest the FBI's definition of eco-terrorism for being inaccurate to other definitions of terrorism such as that of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism which states that acts of terrorism are only those purposely directed at civilians. Radical environmentalists also criticize conflation of eco-terrorism with ecotage by governments and media as rhetorical tools to take advantage of preconceived notions about terrorism and apply them to acts which do not fit what terrorism really is.