A posting from our friends across the pond. It should be shouted from the street corners and from the roof tops, resistance to this system of capitalist exploitation, and the rape and plunder of the planet is growing day by day.
Earth First!: dancing on the tables of bureaucracy and greed for 30 years and counting
By Panagioti, co-editor of Earth First! Journal
Earth First! has been a pain in the ass to industrialists for over 30 years now in the US. Despite serious repression from the Green Scare over the past decade (where eco-activists have been labeled 'terorists' and threatened with life sentences for acts of sabotage) the movement of ecological direct action looks to be getting back on its feet again. The stories below gives a glimpse of this summer alone... Last week in Montana, Earth First! activists in the US stormed the Capital of Montana in resistance to new fossil fuel infrastructure This week tree sitters halted mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia Last month, a direct action campaign of indigenous activist and allies kicked off in the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona And the resistance continues: Earlier in the summer, Earth First!ers in Maine took their case against industrial wind power clearcutting endangered species habitat to a 'criminal' trial for their road blockades of a year earlier. While some charges were dropped, and some resulted in jail sentences, their fight continues. And in Florida, forest defenders opposing the construction of a new biotech animal testing laboratory by occupying the tree canopy this spring were summonsed to court for their alleged involvement in this 6-week occupation (which has played a major part in delaying the construction thus far) All across the US eco-resistance is back on the rise, and the trend seems to be present in several other countries as well. With the ecological crisis expanding, the need has never been greater. We intend to rise to the challenge.
P.S. Don't forget to check out the latest Earth First! Journal, for a more in-depth look at news, strategy and analysis around the world
P.P.S Don't forget to start plannin' to celebrate the 200 year anniversary of the Luddite Uprisings starting this November...
Oh, and the Earth First! Journal may be planning a trip across the Atlantic next spring/summer. We are hoping to make a stop-over in Glasgow... So keep an eye out for us!
