Earth First! Fanatics Wail Wildly for Trees in Wacky Video
by Meaghan O'Neill, Newport, R.I. on 09. 6.08
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We're no strangers to liberal thinking, alternative medicine, or off-beat ideas. Hell, it's no accident that the very name "TreeHugger," is a play on the hippie-type folks that stood up and changed the face of environmentalism a few decades ago. Of course, when we started this site in the summer of 2004, our goal was to take green mainstream with some figurative tree-spiking (and modern design--check out our very first post) but it will always take a certain amount of radical thinking to keep the movement going.
The infamous group Earth First knows that. The purposely decentralized anti-organization that has randomly reared its head over the past few decades has alternately been blamed and taken credit for wreaking environmental havoc with stunts such as tree-sitting and car-bombing. In the video above, they're (supposedly) at it again. Only this time they're not being destructive, but rather taking part in a kind of ritualistic primal scream therapy session that can only be described as the Passion of the Trees.
Surely their good intentions, compassion, and close relationship with nature are a good thing. But is their new-age enthusiasm the kind of alternative approach that will throw a monkeywrench in the current mainstreaming of green? Or is it just the antidote we need to a world being flooded with greenwashing? Tell us what yo think in the comments below.
Via:: Linkognito
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Strange, but no stranger than Evangical Christians who speak in tongues and believe in miracle healing.
Neither.
They look to me like a small group of people who have severe emotional problems. It's not uncommon for people suffering from depression or bipolar disorder to become obsessed with "world" problems or issues. It's a way of disassociating oneself from one's own problems and it provides a convenient excuse for failing to address one's own issues. For example, "How can I be happy when all of the old growth forests are being cut down?"
But, hey, if screaming into the forest helps them cope with life's difficulties, have at it.
The current interest in green technologies and sustainable practices is due to mainstream people taking an interest. Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary comes to mind as an example. The anti-intellectual and misanthropic actions and beliefs of the Earth Firsters of the world are a hindrance to the mainstreaming of ecological thought. Human intellect and human technology is at the root of the world's ecological problems, but they are also where the solutions to those problems lie. Anthropomorphizing trees and rocks is a soft-headed approach that alienates far more people than it appeals to.
They look crazy. It looks like the tree they're crying over was cut down by a beaver.
I think they could use their time for more constructive environmental project than apposing things like legal logging.
I think they are so far out that they would alienate most people. I don't think thier helps real environmental and conservation efforts that accurally do some good and are practical.
I think the green movement always has to be a little radical. It's a movement to leave a consumer society/economy to something more sustainable.
However, I think it is really important that the green movement presents itself as something that isn't weird or extremely difficult. This video makes the movement look strange, and cultish.
Kinda crazy...
but not really. There have been times when I've wanted to scream. I feel as if this video may have been taken slightly out of context, insofar as they only showed the craziness of it all.
If videos like this are broadcast and butchered on network tv, then yet it will set the environmental movement back a few steps.
The green movement isn't moving forward because of radical nut jobs. It's moving forward because humans naturally have a vested intrest in our futures. We know that American raised food is safer to eat. We are proving that plastic is in fact not as safe a previously thought. We are finding that recycling is more economical then throwing away and mining new(especial with NIMBY).
Also, the market is currently dictating that it is more ecconomical to produce locally instead of paying for shipping. As the opportunity to exploit cheap labor around the world continues to run out, local production will increase.
Now is the time for action on the local stages across America. We have to help our young minds focus on responsible manufacturing on a local level, all things within 100 miles radius; Food, Transportation, Shelter, Energy and Recycling.
Earth First is still trying to find it’s way, better then fires and bombs.
Remember to be the change..
Well this is a switch for the better from what the FBI considered an eco terrorist group.
Hope they continue the trend.
D~W
I don't think those of us in cities, and sitting around on the internet, can really judge the experiences they're having out there. Looks like they had a meaningful day.
Looks kinda like the religious nutters who gather outside the abortion clinic in my town. Well, without the violence.
you all are a bunch of friggin weirdos trees are not living people.
Let's face it. REAL treehuggers are religious fanatics. PETA people and Vegans are as well, in my opinion. Nothing wrong with that, but we should not be making laws to satisfy religious beliefs. We should be interacting with our environment in a way that allows for the best use for the most people; and for the future. Environmentalists want to share the Earth with coming generations rather than leaving behind our leftovers and dirty dishes.
It's just impolite to burn up all the easy stuff without saving something for later.People who are pro-choice, for instance, want education and contraception as the best alternative for abortion while the most vocal pro-lifers just want abstinence and are fanatical about it.
Fundamentalism (not be confused with conviction and rigueur) hurts any cause...
Typical bunch of hypocritical Enviro-Whackos.
Do they live in a cave and heat it with moose turds?
@ "Strange, but no stranger than Evangical Christians who speak in tongues and believe in miracle healing":
What you're missing is the distinction of creator worship versus creature worship. Huge difference.
This type of wacky demonstration time warps mankind back to 2,000 B.C where people actually and intensely worshiped creatures and creation like the sun, moon, stars, trees, etc. Those belief systems were based on two things: ignorance and fear.
The hyper-environmental movement is no different today; its a huge backward step at best, at worst, the elimination of true human enlightenment.