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Eco-Warriors: Understanding the Radical Environmental Movement
Eco-Warriors was the first in-depth look at the people, actions, history and philosophies behind the "radical" environmental movement. Focusing on the work of Earth First!, the Sea Shepherds, Greenpeace, and the Animal Liberation Front, among others, Rik Scarce told exciting and sometimes frightening tales of front-line warriors defending an Earth they see as being in environmental peril. While continuing to study these movements as a Ph.D. student, Scarce was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to divulge his sources to prosecutors eager to thwart these groups’ activities. In this updated edition, Scarce brings the trajectory of this movement up to date―including material on the Earth Liberation Front―and provides current resources for all who wish to learn more about one of the most dynamic and confrontational political movements of our time. Literate, captivating, and informative, this is also an ideal volume for classes on environmentalism, social movements, or contemporary politics.
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 12, 2024
A FASCINATING SURVEY OF RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM
Rik Scarce is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Skidmore College, a former newspaper reporter, and is also the author of 'Fishy Business' and 'Contempt of Court: A Scholar's Battle for Free Speech from Behind Bars'(which is an account of his imprisonment for refusing to testify before a grand jury about several activists).
He wrote in the Preface to this 1990 book, "Radical environmentalists present us with much to dislike. Loud, pushy, morally superior, they tend to answer somewhere between 'everything' and 'almost everything' when asked what bothers them about society... In their own words and deeds, radical environmentalists challenge us to re-orient our individual lives and our society. They ask, or demand, that we seek a steady-state relationship with all of nature's creations.... by allowing these activists to speak for themselves, I hope their ends will become clearer and their reasons for choosing their means better understood. Only then can we fairly judge them---and ourselves."
He notes that during the Reagan administration, although membership in mainstream environmental groups such as the Sierra Club "skyrocketed," there was no corresponding increase in their advocacy, or any new initiatives; this in turn led to the formation of groups such as Earth First! (Pg. 22) He observes that radicals question whether Greenpeace "is merely remedying human-caused problems for humans without urging people to make ecological, ethical connections with the broader environment. In effect, the radicals are asking, 'How dramatically are people altering their lifestyles once they join Greenpeace...?" (Pg. 53)
He notes that "None of the Greenpeace founders remain as directors." (Paul) Watson says that today the 'Warriors of the Rainbow' are little more than money-grubbing, publicity-grabbing hypocrites victimized by size and inertia." (Pg. 102) He concludes pessimistically that "the best that most eco-warriors can realistically hope to accomplish is pricking society's conscience." (Pg. 116)
This is a fascinating survey of radical environmentalism as of two decades ago, and still has considerable interest today.
Rik Scarce is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Skidmore College, a former newspaper reporter, and is also the author of 'Fishy Business' and 'Contempt of Court: A Scholar's Battle for Free Speech from Behind Bars'(which is an account of his imprisonment for refusing to testify before a grand jury about several activists).
He wrote in the Preface to this 1990 book, "Radical environmentalists present us with much to dislike. Loud, pushy, morally superior, they tend to answer somewhere between 'everything' and 'almost everything' when asked what bothers them about society... In their own words and deeds, radical environmentalists challenge us to re-orient our individual lives and our society. They ask, or demand, that we seek a steady-state relationship with all of nature's creations.... by allowing these activists to speak for themselves, I hope their ends will become clearer and their reasons for choosing their means better understood. Only then can we fairly judge them---and ourselves."
He notes that during the Reagan administration, although membership in mainstream environmental groups such as the Sierra Club "skyrocketed," there was no corresponding increase in their advocacy, or any new initiatives; this in turn led to the formation of groups such as Earth First! (Pg. 22) He observes that radicals question whether Greenpeace "is merely remedying human-caused problems for humans without urging people to make ecological, ethical connections with the broader environment. In effect, the radicals are asking, 'How dramatically are people altering their lifestyles once they join Greenpeace...?" (Pg. 53)
He notes that "None of the Greenpeace founders remain as directors." (Paul) Watson says that today the 'Warriors of the Rainbow' are little more than money-grubbing, publicity-grabbing hypocrites victimized by size and inertia." (Pg. 102) He concludes pessimistically that "the best that most eco-warriors can realistically hope to accomplish is pricking society's conscience." (Pg. 116)
This is a fascinating survey of radical environmentalism as of two decades ago, and still has considerable interest today.
July 14, 2009
A good summary of eco-resistance up to about 1990, but not as philosophically challenging (or inspiring) as someone like Derrick Jensen. For me it fell short of the fourth star for some journalistic quibbles...
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