After you finish reading this article, go out as soon as you can and rent the documentary, “If A Tree Falls”. It tells the tale of the American-based Earth Liberation Front (ELF), and is an important chapter in the global environmental movement. Dubbed an “eco-terrorist” group by media and governments, ELF sympathizers would rather call themselves “eco-defense activists”. By whatever name, its underground, “green anarchy” tactics are certainly radical and controversial.

ELF uses property damage (mainly arson) and economic sabotage as its weapons against global corporate pillaging. Despite this, at no time in ELF’s history has anyone been killed or injured. ELF’s philosophies were born from a conceptcalled“monkeywrenching”, which is a name adapted from Edward Abbey’s 1975 book entitled “The Monkey Wrench Gang”— a fictional tome that follows three characters and their destructive path of ‘ecotage’ across Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

Today, the North American version of ELF (now a global force) is splintered beyond recognition. Following a four-year investigation, the FBI finally cracked open the secret organization and netted its top leadership, among them Daniel McGowan. McGowan expresses regrets in the film about the use of arson and other destructive forces in the name of mother earth. However, you can’t help but feel a little sympathy for him—a gentle, self-effacing character who had enough with policy talk and wanted to take matters in his own hands. Is he a hero? Maybe. Just look around. It’s easy to get frustrated and angry by rampant disregard for the environment by major global corporations and even local Kenya companies.

It’s easy to shed a tear when old growth forests are being clearcut; or Dolphins are being slaughtered; or poison is being dumped into ourrivers; or when foreigners are poaching our wildlife. And look around Nairobi. Never has it been more polluted. Trashis building up in the streets, there is no system for recycling, our drains are open sewers and smog and dust is everywhere. Equally disturbing is the fact that KWS is considering putting a road through Nairobi Park to connect the new by-pass. We were shocked that KWS would even consider this shameful project. If this makes you angry, then do something about it and join us in this cause of protecting the park and its wildlife (see “Silence of the Lions”). And while we cannot condone destructive behavior, we can encourage you to be radical, and to be a ‘monkey-wrencher’ in your own way.

If you saw your city park being bulldozed would you chain yourself to a tree? Would you lie down in front of the tractor? We hope you would. Kenya needs more environmental revolutionaries. There is a place and time for non-violent, civil disobedience, and the time is now. In our “Green Issue” we ask you to think about the environment and what direct actions you will take to protect it. And please recycle thisissue! Let us know what you think: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .