Radical Realms of Environmental Violence

               The subject of environmental violence can often be thought of or described in a number of ways, and may additionally be attributed to a number of different factors.  However, one area of environmental violence that may take on a more literal meaning of the term deals with eco-terrorism.  While eco-terrorism is nothing new, I was actually pretty ignorant to this subject until watching If a Tree Falls, in GVPT273.  But after seeing this documentary, I found myself extremely curious about the world of environmental radicalism; not because I wanted to be a part of this movement, but because many of the issues that these people were fighting for were things that I also cared about, and I simply didn’t understand what would push them to such violent extremes.

               While the term eco-terrorism is controversial in itself, I would like to focus the topic of this blog on how this form of environmental violence ties into those dealing with conflict or scarcity.  It seems that the idea of environmental violence often centers on issues occurring within undeveloped States, and in many cases it can be thought of as the product of scarcity or environmental degradation.  Eco-terrorism, on the other hand, typically deals with violence that is carried out in developed States, as a direct measure to counter environmental degradation.  In most cases, acts of environmental radicalism occur on a local scale, usually in response to domestic issues.  And while it may seem to have nothing to do with issues occurring within the underdeveloped world, in some ways eco-terrorism can be thought of as a by-product of these more traditional scenarios of environmental violence.

               Although this concept might be a bit of a stretch, it deals with the idea of consumerism in the developed world fueling environmental violence occurring within the undeveloped world.  The indirect relationship between eco-terrorism and traditional forms of environmental violence is ultimately based on the economic ties that developed States have with undeveloped States, whether it deals with importing or exporting natural resources.  A hypothetical example might include an act of environmental violence taken upon a domestic oil corporation in a developed country that acquires much of its supply from a poorer country that deals with violence as a result of having such an abundant supply of oil.  And while such a relationship is particularly weak in most cases, in certain situations, this connection may be more apparent.