The Debate of Ecoterrorism

Today I'm going to talk about a topic many people have never heard of: ecoterrorism. Ecoterrorism is the practice of using violent acts against humans or property for the protection of the environment or wildlife. Examples of this include destroying power plants, destroying cars (hummers....), The Sea Shepherd ships attacking whalers and shark fisherman, and more. 

While many would argue that some of todays environmental and ecological challenges require drastic measures, I don't think violence is the kind of drastic we need. Yes, these actions call a lot of attention to the issues, but not a good kind of attention. We don't need to give people more reasons to think that environmentalists are crazy and irrational people. We want people to think that we are an inclusive and open group of people with a common passion / goal. 

I took a course in nonviolence last year and learned a lot about what are effect techniques for change. Historically, violence breeds more violence and nonviolence breeds peace. As environmentalists, we want a sustainable planet for all its inhabitants - including humans! This means a peaceful and and livable planet. And the only way to get there is through nonviolence.

What are examples of nonviolent action? Rallies, protests, strikes, lobbying, political action, just look to great leaders like Gandhi, MLK, Cesar Chavez, etc. We need nonviolence to get this movement started, and we don't need ecoterrorists giving us a bad rap.