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In deep belief that there is “no compromise in defense of Mother Earth,” members of this movement put their bodies on the line to stop ecological destruction.
Earth First! is a worldwide movement of small, regionally based groups of radical environmentalists. Formed in 1979, Earth First! claims to have no members, only “believers” — self-proclaimed deep ecologists who believe all life is of equal value and act locally to defend the natural world.
Their actions range from public education, grassroots organizing and involvement in the legal process, to blockades, tree sits, and demonstrations. In alignment with their motto, “No compromise in defense of Mother Earth,” some Earth First!ers go a step beyond civil disobedience, sabotaging industrial equipment in ecodefence. Such nonviolent and “productive” forms of property destruction include road reclamation, destruction of genetically modified crops, and tree-spiking.
Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching — a compilation of articles and letters sent to the Earth First! Journal by dozens of individuals, edited by Dave Foreman and published by Earth First! Books — outlines methods for decommissioning bulldozers, flattening tires, burning machinery, and pulling out survey stakes, and discusses the security, safety, strategy, and justification behind such actions.
In the era of climate change, the kind of ecological resistance pioneered by Earth First! is as necessary as ever, and still going strong. Through 20 years of militant resistance, the small Turkish town of Artvin has managed to hold off the gold and copper mine threatening their lives and surrounding habitat. Across North America, fierce Indigenous resistance has stopped or delayed pipelines threatening tribal lands and critical watersheds. And 38 years after its founding, with its UK branch shutting down the country’s largest coal mine for one day in a 2017 direct action, Earth First! is still making no compromises in defence of Mother Earth.