Ecoterrorists, under the banner of the Earth Liberation Front, struck Seattle leaving a number of model homes burned to the ground in an arson attack on The "Street of Dreams" a home show that is presented here every year. A crudely drawn banner proclaimed those responsible.
What is ironic about this particular attack is that these homes cost much more than normal because they are built to "green" standards and thus impact the environment much less than do those built using conventional methods. ELF is known as a very radical group who do not believe that stooping to terrorism is wrong if it fulfills their vision of protecting the environment. This is, however, the largest terrorist act on their part known in the Northwest. They are generally responsible for minor acts of vandalism and other such forms of protest.
Nobody was injured in the attack. The homes are part of a builders show that attempts to spotlight the latest trends in building. The theme this year was ecologically responsible building. ELF's self-proclaimed objective is to halt all development and building of new homes or new businesses. You can read the entire story here.
From my perspective, I find such tactics deplorable. The pollution caused by the fires, and all the other environmental impacts speak volumes about just how environmentally concerned these people really are. If you love the environment as they claim to, then you don't harm it to make a point.
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Comments: 23
They are a bunch of fruitcakes and I hope they get apprehended and given the Maximum sentence.
Having said that, did you take a look at the photo posted with this article? That hose is HUGE!!! Is that a 4-family dwelling???
So, before we get all warm and fuzzy about how "green" this house is, (was... RIP), maybe we need look at a broader definition of what it is to be civic minded.
So far ELF has not taken credit, but if I had burned down that many homes, I suppose I'd be hiding in some rat hole and praying.
I agree with Doug's point. No matter how "green" the construction is, a house that size for just a family is morally reprehensible.
Don, right! Just where was Homeland Security??
Bruce: Here in the Northwest, where we've had environmentalists active long before it was popular, we know the difference between those who are legitimately concerned over the environment and those who are just out to get their names in the newspapers. ELF in one of the latter. They are like many of the violent splinter groups and are incapable of rational and reasonable behavior, so nobody up here takes them seriously. They are simply ecoterrorists. A bunch of radical nuts who are incapable of reason or solutions that actually could ever work.
Can't expect protection from real crime, and that is all this is , when they spend all their time on the "bogey man".
If you add to that the fact that they tend not to actually communicate with one another or listen to their analysts and you can see why things that are significant get overlooked. Remember, months before 9/11 an agent in one of the Western offices of one of the intelligence agencies sent a memo pointing out that there were foreign nationals training to fly airplanes who were not interested in learning to land them.
Remember also that there are millions of people in this country illegally, many of whom have overstayed visas and nobody knows where they are or what they are doing. It doesn't surprise me that they can't do anything much with all of this floating around.
There is also the question of why ELF would plant bombs that seem to have been planted for the purpose of harming the firefighters who entered the buildings and the leaves open the question of why ELF would target firefighters. More investigation is necessary be assuming and particular group was responsible.
Rude: If the banner had burned, how would anyone have known it was even there? I've seen the banner on the news, so obviously you are once again talking without thinking.
I thought I would stop back and add a bit of information. It is my understanding, (I could easily be wrong!), that ELF doesn't have an organized hierarchy and that individuals and small groups here and there identify themselves with the "idea" more than with a specific organization.
It has also been reported that this was a very controversial project to begin with... not only because of the obscene size of these homes, but because the homes jeopardize a wetland.
Calling these homes eco-friendly or green is a sales tool meant to assuage any guilt the buyers might feel if they gave a shit about things like this. You have undoubtedly noticed that even the oil companies are running "green" ads on television, telling us how much they good they are doing for the planet.
It appears that ELF, or rogue individuals choose to make a point of this hypocrisy by turning to criminal acts.
I'm finding this event interesting on a number of levels.
I can't really speak to the controversy or lack thereof about the project itself. I did hear this morning there is/was a dispute about a wetland. This is a yearly event here in the Seattle area, so there is no telling. I did in fact consider the size and cost of these homes to be obscene. I cannot imagine a family so large it would require that amount of space to be comfortable.
Personally I cannot condone burning down someone else's property because you disagree with them. I think these people belong in prison where they can spend their time worrying about when it's safe to sleep as opposed to running around destroying property and polluting the atmosphere and environment. It's ironic that a group that claims to be so eco-concerned is in fact just another polluter.