Ecotage is the commission of usually illegal acts of sabotage motivated by environmentalism, including the prevention of ecocide. As a term it goes back to 1972 and long predates the more recent neologism "eco-terrorism." Ecotage is also referred to as ecodefense or monkeywrenching. Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction. ... Environmentalism is the support or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ... Ecocide is the killing of an ecosystem, which includes consuming it and using it to feed some other process or system - ecophagy. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... The term eco-terrorism is a neologism which has been used to describe threats and acts of violence (both against people and against property), sabotage, vandalism, property damage and intimidation committed in the name of environmentalism. ... Ecodefense: The Ethics of Monkeywrenching is a book edited by Dave Foreman, published by Abbzug Press, Third Edition. ... Monkeywrenching is economic warfare by sabotage, often by illegal means, used to slow down or halt an undesired government-sanctioned activity. ...

The Earth Liberation Front claims that ecotage requires neither aggression nor any direct confrontation with police, politicians, or other authority, as the actions are carried out in secret and at times of day where the risk to life is nil. However, certain types of ecotage (e.g. tree spiking) can cause injury or death after the act has been committed. The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is an underground movement with no leadership, membership or official spokesperson, dedicated to saving the environment. ... Tree spiking is a form of sabotage which involves hammering a metal rod or other material into a tree trunk in order to discourage logging. ...

Many environmentalists see non-destructive forms of civil disobedience, such as tree sitting, as more effective, particularly if the goal is to influence public opinion. It has been suggested that Civil and social disobedience be merged into this article or section. ... Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down (speculating that loggers will not endanger human lives by cutting an occupied tree). ...

According to its detractors, the reverence for life professed by those who perform ecotage is not reflected in their disregard for property rights or willingness to risk the lives and safety of humans to make a political point. Supporters believe this type of criticism puts more value on property than on life. Furthermore, most groups and individuals who engage in ecotage claim to take all necessary precautions to avoid causing injury or death to any humans. This page deals with property as ownership rights. ...

Ecotage cases

Some of the more well known cases of ecotage are:

• 1998 - Arson of buildings at Vail Mountain in the United States.
• 1999 - Genetically engineered potatoes uprooted at Crop and Food research centre in New Zealand. [1]

1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... There is also a place named Vail in Arizona. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this 1986 autoluminograph of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene of the firefly strikingly demonstrates the power and potential of genetic manipulation. ...

Ecotage in fiction

Ecotage was popularized in 1975 by Edward Abbey's book The Monkey Wrench Gang. It has also been treated in novels by T. Coraghessan Boyle (A Friend of the Earth), Carl Hiaasen (Tourist Season, Sick Puppy,Hoot), and Neal Stephenson (Zodiac: The Eco-Thriller), and movies such as Choke Canyon (1986) and On Deadly Ground (1994). Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 - March 14, 1989) was an American author and essayist noted for his criticism of public land policies and advocacy of environmental issues. ... Dream Garden Press hardcover edition with a cover illustration by Robert Crumb The Monkey Wrench Gang is a novel written by American author Edward Abbey (1927-1989), published in 1975. ... T. Coraghessan Boyle (T.C. Boyle, born Thomas John Boyle on December 2, 1948) is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. ... T. Coraghessan Boyles novel A Friend of the Earth (2000) is a story of environmental destruction. ... Photo of Carl Hiaasen by Robert Birnbaum Carl Hiaasen [pronounced hiya-sun] (born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. ... Tourist Season is a novel written in 1986 by Carl Hiaasen. ... Carl Hiaasens novel Sick Puppy (1999) is regarded by some to be perfect entertainment and food for thought. ... Hoot can be: a sound made by a human (laughing or showing disapproval), an owl, or the horn on a vehicle; an inhalation of the smoke from a burning substance, such as tobacco or marijuana; a UK comic book of the 1980s—see Hoot (comic book); a 2002 young adult... Neal Stephenson (b. ... Zodiac (1988) is Neal Stephensons second novel, which tells the story of an environmentalist uncovering a conspiracy involving industrialist pollutors and bicameral minded Satanists in the Boston Harbor. ... Choke Canyon is a 1986 movie starring Stephen Collins as a cowboy scientist trying to develop an alternative energy source. ... On Deadly Ground is a 1994 action film starring Steven Seagal, Michael Caine, Joan Chen, and John McGinley. ...

Ecotage! is also the title of a 1972 humor book by Sam Love, which is the likely origin of the word. Ecotage! (ISBN 0671781804) was a 1972 paperback book edited by Sam Love and published by Pocket Books. ...

See also

• Radical environmentalist
• Environmental movement.