Environmental Life Force (ELF), also known as the Original ELF, was the first radical environmental group in 1977 to use explosive and

incendiary device Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel ...

s to advance their agenda.

History

The group was founded by John Clark Hanna, who was arrested and convicted for the use of explosives on federal property. The ELF conducted armed actions in northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and disbanded in 1978 following Hanna's arrest for placing incendiary devices on seven

crop-duster Aerial application, or crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific spreading of fertilizer is also known a ...

s at the

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...

airport on May 1, 1977.Original ELF
/ref> They said that "warfare" designed pesticides were being used on domestic crops, specifically a chemical banned after its extensive use in Vietnam. A communiqué to the ''Independent'' (Santa Cruz) later provided the group with a frontpage story. They also called for above-ground organizations to initiate a boycott of sprayed food and for the public to criticize the process: There was also an article published in ''Open Road'' in August 1977 featuring the bombing at a paper publishing company in

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

. The target was against a company who the ELF claimed were responsible for using a dangerous chemical called Tordon for aerial spraying, used as part of a program in Vietnam and responsible for causing cancer and birth defects. Although not much is known about the early ELF activists, because of their efforts to remain anonymous, John Hanna, who claims to have founded the movement along with other individuals, talks of how he used explosives against a target: Unlike his former years, Hanna no longer advocates militancy, although does not denounce it, only denouncing militancy that leads to violence. He instead promotes the adoption of legal measures, commenting: "I accomplished more for the environmental cause through my research organization and its spin-offs than I ever did as an eco-guerilla."Interview with ELF Founder: John Hanna
''Original ELF''.

Modern ELF

Several years later, the ELF

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

resurfaced, representing another ideologically similar decentralised eco-guerilla entity, the

Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for Wiktionary:autonomy, autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to ...

, which borrowed tactics from the

Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is a Far-left politics, far-left international, Leaderless resistance, leaderless, decentralized movement that emerged in Britain in the 1970s, evolving from the Bands of Mercy. It operates without a formal lead ...

. The two groups are otherwise unrelated.

References

{{reflist

External links

Q&A with Original ELF founder, John Hanna

Environmental Life Force

ELF declares 'war' on pesticides
''Independent'', May 20, 1977, Santa Cruz, C.A.
ELF Guerrillas Fight Ecocide
''Open Road'', vol #4, August 1977, Vancouver, B.C. Environmental organizations based in the United States Radical environmentalism Eco-terrorism