ELF has struck again. Apparently. Far from being the sequel to a mediocre Will Ferrell movie, the Earth Liberation Front is one of the most active and most secretive “eco-terrorist” groups in existence. Started in the United Kingdom in 1992, ELF is an offshoot of ALF, the Animal Liberation Front. Both groups operate in a similar leaderless fashion, relying on small independent cells and autonomous operations to spread a message of, well, earth liberation.

It seems a mistake to talk about ELF as if they were some overarching terrorist entity with a hierarchy of some sort, like the KKK. The individual groups operate independently and identify themselves as working toward ELF’s goals.

ELF has become infamous in the past several years for starting large, expensive fires in varying forms of protest. These actions have not always been entirely successful. In 2001, an ELF group targeted what they believed where plant genetics labs at the University of Washington. They were wrong and ended up destroying several species of endangered trees. An ELF group also firebombed Vail in the late 1990s to protest the number of trees being cut down for a planned expansion.

Such a dedicated antiestablishment group devoted to acts of property damage is bound to stay on the government’s radar, and indeed, ELF has been on the FBI’s terrorist watch list since 2001. ELF functions as a truly anarchic assembly; they have no official Web page, no center for press releases. This collective nature makes ELF difficult to infiltrate, discuss and comment on.

The most recent attacks claimed by ELF were on the so-called “Street of Dreams” – a rural cluster development of “green” houses. Investigators have estimated that the attacks causes nearly $9 million in damages and destroyed four homes. Incendiary devices were found in a fifth home but apparently failed to detonate. A banner left at the scene read, “Built Green? Nope black! McMansions in [rural cluster developments] r not green. ELF”

Public decrying of the arsons seems to be near universal, with Greenpeace chiming in as well as most commentators speaking critically of the group’s actions. Yet ELF’s actions deserve to be analyzed carefully. Though they reportedly caused “tens of millions of dollars in property damage” the FBI is reluctant to admit that ELF has never killed anyone.

The arsons on “Dream Street” also deserve a second look. Although the houses boasted such “green” elements as formaldehyde-free insulation and recycled siding, they were definitely posh. All four houses were valued at more than $2 million each.

The moniker “green” is too often being slapped on items that are barely environmentally friendly and is frequently used as a balm, merely soothing complaints about otherwise ridiculously extravagant housing.

Just as culture took the teeth out of the punk movement by commercializing and commodifying it, environmentalism is quickly being co-opted by savvy sellers looking to hook the concerned elites. To me, the words “$2 million dollar house” and “green” seem mutually exclusive. Too many people seem to feel that they can save the planet by driving hybrid SUVs to their green mansions. At its heart, the environmental movement is about consuming less overall, regardless of what recycled components make it up.

While groups like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club work hard through established legislative channels to bring about change, it can sometimes seem as though they do not accomplish much. ELF’s violent arson attacks seem to show individuals actively striving for their cause, much in the same way that Malcom X and the militant revolutionaries in India seemed in their times.

Nevertheless, history has shown us that nonviolent protest nearly always wins out. Aggression works on a very short timeframe; it seeks to confront and eliminate a problem immediately. Pacifism works on a much longer timeframe, seeking to address the aspects of a problem and bring about a change in behavior and belief. Although it may have worked for Batman to strike fear in the hearts of evildoers, changing the publics’ buying habits is not something that can be accomplished coercively.

Groups like ELF offer a flashy solution. The group’s counterculture essence is appealing to angry, environmentally-concerned citizens. It’s a path that only leads to hatred and destruction. True social change can take several generations to become fully actualized, but change brought about by pacifistic means is the kind of change that will last. Houses can be rebuilt – what we need to destroy are the existing misconceptions regarding climate change and what we can do about it.

– Quincy Miller is a senior in English

from Altoona.