Use Activism, Not Vandalism

Use Activism, Not Vandalism, to Aid the Environment

September 7, 2001

EDITORIAL

At its core, environmentalism is supposed to be about nonviolence, a commitment to protect our fragile Earth and its inhabitants from harm. So the vandalism of a shadowy group called Earth Liberation Front makes no sense.

The latest incident was an attack on the Woodbury facility, a cancer research center at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Damage was estimated at $15,000. Last year, someone destroyed research crops at the lab, and the ELF claimed credit. Its sister group, the Animal Liberation Front, claimed to have stolen about 250 ducklings in April from a Cornell University lab in Eastport. And a handful of Suffolk teens pled guilty this year to vandalizing homes under construction in Mount Sinai on Dec. 30 in the name of ELF. The ELF methodology - arson, theft and other illegal acts - is far clearer than its ideology, a vague concern about the environment and technology. Its web site contains a sick little work called: "Setting Fires With Electrical Timers - An Earth Liberation Front Guide." And it boasts of a variety of acts across the nation.

Far more serious than the vandalism itself is the possibility that anyone would even momentarily confuse members of this group with real environmentalists, which they clearly are not.

Long Island has no shortage of hard-working environmental activists who devote serious attention to profound issues. On open- space preservation, for example, Long Island has done more than all but a handful of states. One poll reports that 80 percent of Long Islanders consider themselves environmentalists.

Still, there's plenty of serious work to be done, to preserve open space, to curb excessive development, to protect our water. So, to any young people considering an ELF action, a word of advice: Find a serious, affirmative way to make the future safe for our planetary home. Try activism, not vandalism.

Chronology of animal extremist / ecoterror crimes

Farmers for Safe Farms flyer Animal Rights and Eco-Terrorism : The Price We Pay (PDF format).

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