Eco-Terrorism! It Does Exist...

Apparently, there are Eco-Terrorists running rampant throughout the world. However, before getting into what Eco-Terrorism actually is, we need to know what plain old terrorism consists of. America is having a hard time deciding what is terrorism, however, a consensus has been reached throughout Europe; "Terrorism is the anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action employed by a (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby- in contrast to assassination- the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human vctims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a target population, and serve as message generators." Now, how does this relate to the environmental activists?

Since the devastating 9/11 attack, civil liberties have taken a strain to the different definitions of what consititues as terrorism. Individuals or groups can't address their governmnet with issues like the environment without being labelled a unpatriotic, or at the worst a terrorist. This is the complete opposite  from when the term first appeared during the French Revolution, it had a positive connotation, and terror was thought to have a functional purpose for the state. One of the resons why Eco-Terrorim has taken such a hit is that it has made its way inot the media, and the way that it is being portrayed is with a suspence. Which of course is how they get their readers.

Eco-Terrorism shouldn't be confused with environmental terrorism. when I first started reading about Eco-Terrorism I thought that it was the same thing, just that environmental had been shortedned down to Eco-. However, both groups have different targets and motives. Environmental terrorism is defined as "unlawful use of their benefit(s) and/or destroy other property". To sum environmental terrorism up, their actions are so natural resources can't be used. On the other hand Eco-Terrorism is the "violent destruction of property on the behalf on individuals or environmental groups in the name of saving the environment from further human encroachment and destruction". The aim for Eco-Terrorists is to bring public attention to the issues that are surrounding the environment.

Environmental Terrorism can be defined even further, with resource-as-tool terrorim and resource-as-target. For resource-as-tool it is when environmental resources are used (such as crops, livestock and water supplies) are used as a delivery vechile as a ploy to carry destructive material to a large number of people. Whereas, resource-as-target terrorism occurs when the environment and/or resources are targeted for destruction. With these damages, the impact is felt by people the terrorists wanted to impact.

An organisation which has brought forward the debate of Eco-Terrorism is Earth First! The members of Earth Fisrt! believe that they are a group concerned about the environment and aren't terrorostic in nature. The group itself does not condone violent acts, or the destruction of property. Tactics employed by Earth First! are "tree-spiking", which involves jamming metal spikes through trees. This allows the trees to live, however, it creates dangerous work environment to loggers. Furthermore, they pull survey stakes out to confuse developers, disable powerlines and heavy equipment. Earth First!ers defend their practices as non-violent; an effective threat; doesn't harm living things; and above all else, it is defending the Earth.

In my opinion, Earth First! are committing acts of violence, and may be considered to be Eco-Terrorists. An example of things gone wrong for the supposedly harmless group was when a 23 year man was severly injured. During his working day his saw blade came into contact with an 11 inch spike that had been put through a tree. This caused the blade to shatter and send shrapnel inot the man's face, he suffered the loss of several of his teeth, and the tearing away of his cheek and jaw.


Are there penalties for "saving the environment"?
Recently (in Calofornia), there has been new legislation put in place that enables law enforcement to fine Eco-Terrorists who are caught destroying crops. Eco-Terrorists can be found liable for souble the amount of the crop, also, the cost of related testing research, and crop development. California is the only state which has legislation of this kind.

Not only is there new legislation, but the FBI have also come out publically stating that environmental activists are starteing to pose a threat, in the form of terrorism in the United States. Rising suspicions that environmental activists may be on the verge of killing innocent suvillians, all in the name of saving the environment. Moreover, Eco-Terrorism is not only present, but is an appealing temptation to some activists.

Now they are on the internet....
A worry about all of this, is that these groups are now utilising the Internet to get their message across. Earth First! Australia  have a site, looking through it, it seems pretty harmless, they provide a list of fruit and veg, with the prices and so on. I believe that it will be a matter of time before their sites turn from harmless to harmful. I guess we will have to wait and see.....

References:
Brown, CS 2007, '5 Beyond Intrinsic Value: Undermining the Justification of Ecoterrorism', American Journal of Economics & Sociology, 66, 1, pp.113-125, EBSCOhost, viewed 17th April 2012

Chalecki, EL 2002, 'A New Vigilance: Identifying and Reducing the Risks of Environmental Terrorism' Global Environmental Politics, 2, 1, pp. 46-64, EBSCOhost, viewed 17th April 2012

Eagan, SP 1996, 'From Spikes to Bombs: The Rise of Eco-Terrorism', Studies In Conflict & Terrorism, 19, 1, pp. 1-18, EBSCOhost, viewed 17th April 2012

Lange, JL 1990, 'Refusal to Compromise: The Case of Earth First!', Western Journal of Speech Communication: WJSC, 54, 4, PP.473-494, EBSCOhost, viewed 17th April 2012
 
Miller, D, Rielera, J & Yelin, J 2008, 'Civil Liberties: The line Dividing Environmental Protests and Ecoterrorists', Journal For The Study of Radicalism, 2, 1, pp.109-123, EBSCOhosy, viewed 17th April 2012.

Niller, E 2000, 'Eco-Terrorism Penalties', Nature Biotechnology, 18,6, p. 582, EBSCOhost, viewed 17th April 2012.

Twitter Invading Education Systems

Twitter is one most popular forms of microblogging, and it is now making its way onto the education system. Students engage in both formal and informal learning, where informal learning is the course-related exercises which occur outside of the classroom. Twitter falls into the category of informal learning. Within education Tweets are known as 'time-shifted learning' and consist of 'concise and focus on key questions'.

Recent research indicates that students are demanding that teachers use social networking platforms, where it is expected that faculty members communicate with their students via instant message. Responding to the challenge, higher education departments have started to experiment with Twitter. The hope is that students embrace this opportunity and interact with teachers and students more than they have been. Even though Facebook is the most popular social networking platform, (in America) educators have been more in favour of adopting Twitter into their course work.

Some of the ways in which Twitter is been used is to start class discussion, as an instant feedback mechanism, and Twitter enables students to critically reflect on their work, which enhances understanding. Twitter is also used to send information from one student to another.

Experiments have also been conducted on students utilising Twitter. One of which was the value of Twitter to student teachers during their placement. Results showed that Tweets that were considered supportive to the group and/or individual were highly valued. Tweets such as these helped the participants through the difficult times that they were facing, such as the feeling of isolation. Furthermore, results showed that students used the questions (what, why and how) in reflection exercises. During reflection time, solutions were found to help student teachers get through to their students.

Student teachers aren't the only ones incorporating social networking platforms into their education. Students who are partaking in distance education have also adopted the technique. It enables all distance education students within a unit to create a community, and a sense of belonging to that community. Another positive of social networking in education is it fills in the gaps that the university sites (BlackBoard) have. Moreover, teachers can post questions, and students can answer instantaneously, with the added benefit that students log onto social networking sites for several hours a day.

Another astonishing result found is that integrating social networking platforms into the course work has a positive effect on student’s grades. Further, that academic ability is not impaired with the use of social networking. Furthermore, evidence shows that students who organise study sessions over social networking platforms are more likely to attend, and have a higher attendance rates than other study groups, which also continues throughout the course of the semester.

As can be seen, social networking platforms as an educational tool may not be as bad as some people think. With the two examples above, it has enhanced the way in which students learn, and interact with one another.

References:
Aspden E.J., & Thorpe L.P. 2009 'Where Do You Learn? Tweeting to Inform Learning Space Development'. Educause Qaurterly vol. 32, no.1, viewed 17th April 2012
<http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+QaurterlyMagazineVolum/WhereDoYouLearnTweetingtoInFor/163852>

Junco, R., Heibergert G., & Loken E. 2011. 'The Effect of Twitter on College Student Engegement and Grades'. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning vol. 27, p.119-132. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Kassens-Noor E. 2012 'Twitter As A Teaching Practice To Enhance Active and Informal Learning in Higher Education: The Case of Sustainable Tweets'. Active Learning in Higher Education vol. 13, no.9, viewed 17th April 2012
<http://alh.sagepub.com/content/13/1/9>

Lester, J, & Perini, M 2010, 'Potential of Social Networking Sites for Distance Education Student Engagement', New Directions For Community Colleges, vol. 150, p. 67-77, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 April 2012.

Wright N. 2010 'Twittering in Teacher Education: Reflecting on Practicum Experiences'. Open Learning, vol. 25, no.3, p.259-265. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.