ABSTRACT
Earth First! is the best-known branch of the “radical environmental” movement. Founded in the southwestern United States in 1980, it quickly assembled a diverse collection of environmental activists proclaiming “no compromise in defense of Mother Earth!” In its first two decades, the movement experimented with new forms of direct action resistance to environmental degradation, especially new forms of civil disobedience, such as “tree sitting” and road blockades. A number of its activists championed even more aggressive “ecotage” strategies to thwart environmental degradation, including “tree spiking” (putting metal or other nails in trees), equipment sabotage, and even arson. They seek to immediately halt or make unprofitable environmental destruction.
