roots activists, the extremism of industry and government opposition to environmental protection, the crisis of wilderness destruction as a result of unfettered industrial development. The Sierra Club and other mainstream environmental groups concentrated its efforts on environmental health hazards to people caused by air, water, and pesticide pollution. Its members and clientele were worried about the effects of toxic waste, radiation, and smog. The question of keeping natural areas pristine for the benefit of the nonhuman creatures that dwelt there was considered somewhat ethereal and elitist. On the other hand the founders of Earth First! chose big wilderness whose ecological equilibrium was still undisturbed by industrial society as their central concern - the basic unit of radical environmentalism. This priority was grounded on the scientifically sound premise that since all parts of the environment are ultimately connected, any particular component, including that relatively expendable part called humanity, can be secure only if the entire ecosystem remains healthy. Keeping pollution under control-that is, within politically determined standards-did nothing to ensure that the more subtle environmental imbalances caused by industrial development and overpopulation would not also come back to afflict human welfare in insidious ways. The basic tenets of the Earth First! movement: No compromise in defense of Mother Earth. There is a need for a radical wing that would make the Sierra Club look moderate. Someone has to say what needs to be said, and do what needs to be done and take the kinds of strong action to dramatize it. Earth First! wants to make the mainstream environmental groups operate more effectively by making them appear reasonable in comparison. It also strives to be a force in its own right, taking whatever actions within its means that were necessary to protect the ecology, irrespective of the mai...
