ELF (the original) Environmental Life Force :An interview with ELF founder

ELF (the original)   Environmental Life Force   The original eco-guerrilla combat unit.  An interview with ELF founder, John Hanna: the first person to serve prison time for using direct action to defend Earth against pesticides.  In the interview, he discusses ELF's origins, tactics and the consequences of direct action. Home |continue: INTERVIEW WITH ELF FOUNDER ORIGINAL ELF LOGO BY AWEST, SANTA CRUZ, CA The radical environmental cadre known as ELF was founded thirty four years ago in Santa Cruz, California.  The original ELF (Environmental Life Force), disbanded in 1978 but the ELF name and its guerrilla  tactics were copied in the early 1990's by the Earth Liberation Front.  According to the FBI, today's version of ELF has devolved into a domestic terrorist group. This web site gives an overview of ELF's origins and lessons learned.  To paraphrase a common saying: "Those who fail to understand past mistakes are bound to repeat them".  Regrettably, the recent convictions of several ELF suspects demonstrates that the individuals now in custody did not learn or benefit from mistakes made by the original ELF three decades ago.  The ELF members now serving lengthy prison terms are issuing statements that they regret their actions and have come to realize that violence is completely counterproductive to their cause.        The original ELF initiated its first action on March 16, 1977 in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California.  Subsequent guerrilla attacks in northern California and Oregon were mounted that year by the May Day Ecommando Unit and the Rachel Carson Ecommando Unit.  On November 22, 1977, John Hanna, the founder of  ELF, was arrested at his home in Santa Cruz by the local sheriff's SWAT team and federal agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.  A trial in federal court resulted in a five year sentence which was later modified to time served and probation.  Following the 1977 arrest, a period of self-criticism and introspection ensued.  A dialogue with other activists led to a consensus that terrorist actions were clearly counter-productive to the environmental movement - regardless of the perceived righteousness of a given cause.  The public will always reject violence and destructive actions.  Although ELF's attacks were later described as being "symbolic" and "guerrilla theater" the public's reaction was overwhelmingly negative.  Since ELF had strived to inform and inspire the people, this negative response served to end its activities.  ELF disbanded in 1978, having failed to achieve its objective.  One year later, Earth First! was founded.  In the mid 1980's, there was written communications between ELF founder, John Hanna, and Earth First! founder, Dave Foreman (see: Archives page).  At the time, the internet did not exist, so information about the  1977 ELF guerrilla actions circulated slowly within the Earth First! membership.  Today,  anonymous anecdotes found on the internet suggest that the current version of ELF was launched by an extremist Earth First! faction in Great Britain in the early 1990's.  Whatever the origins, contemporary ELF philosophies and tactics generally mirror those expressed by the original ELF.  Unfortunately, the new incarnation of ELF, Earth Liberation Front, makes no attempt to "inform and inspire the people".  The actions employed are violent, intimidating and counter-productive to the environmental movement.  The lessons of the past have not been learned.  Today's mainstream environmentalists choose to distance themselves from the new ELF for the same reasons given thirty-four years ago.  There is no tolerance for terrorism in the environmental movement - never has been and never will be.  A terrorist and environmentalist cannot live within the same skin.        THE OLD ELF WITH FRIEND CIRCA 1978 "WE DON'T INHERIT THE EARTH FROM OUR ANCESTORS, WE BORROW IT FROM OUR CHILDREN" The following interview with John Hanna, was given in response to a suggestion made by Sunny Lewis, Editor-in-Chief of Environment News Service.  It was submitted electronically to ENS on September 6, 2001.  The primary thrust of the interview, i.e. violence and its consequences, was underscored by the events that took place five days later when the attacks took place in New York and Washington, D.C.  The interview is being published here with the hope that it might have a favorable influence on those who are open to reason.September 6, 2001 INTERVIEW WITH JOHN HANNA Q:  You've been out of the spotlight for a number of years.  Why did you decide to give this interview? A:  I started hearing about arson attacks and vandalism claimed by an environmental group called the E.L.F.  Years ago, I founded the ELF.  Of course this is a whole new entity but similar in its purpose.  I felt it might be useful to make a statement at this time.  It would be nice if the people involved in these current activities will listen to me.  I'm fortunate because I have the benefit of hindsight.  It's remarkable how insightful one becomes when you're removed from the heat of the struggle and have years to reflect on the past.  Maybe the new generation of activists could avoid repetition of my misadventures.  They probably don't want to hear what I have to say, but it's worth a try.  I'm guessing that most of the ELF is made up of young people who consider themselves to be invincible, righteous and smarter than the cops.  That's what I used to think. Q:  On November 22, 1977, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms arrested you at your home in Santa Cruz, California.  Can you describe the circumstances leading to your arrest? A:  I was charged with violation of federal statutes.  Specifically, I was accused of placing incendiary devices on seven crop dusters at the airport in Salinas, California on May 1, 1977.  There were other charges as well relating to my underground activities. Q:  What prompted you to take this course of action? A:  At the time, I was frustrated.  I chose to go underground and employ guerrilla tactics in defense of the earth.  I felt conventional methods of civil disobedience were ineffective.  I was upset because pesticide use and cancer rates were increasing in spite of the best efforts of the concerned scientific community to point out the hazards and alternatives to pesticides. Q:  To whom are you referring? A:  Two people influenced me: One was Rachel Carson and her book Silent Spring.  The other was Robert Van Den Bosch, professor of entomology at U.C. Berkeley.  He wrote a book titled The Pesticide Conspiracy.  He died shortly after the book was published.  I believed that the warning signals were loud and clear but no one seemed to be taking heed.  Here were respectable scientists with PhD's.  They were working within the system but it seemed to me at the time not to be working.  So I decided to take the struggle to the streets - use a bigger stick so to speak. Q:  And that was 24 years ago.  Did your bigger stick work? A:  No.  Our food is still being sprayed.  But it seemed like the way to go back then.  I founded the E.L.F. which was an acronym for Environmental Life Force.  With today's incarnation, E.L.F. stands for Earth Liberation Front.  I've also heard it called the Environmental Liberation Front.  We're comparing apples and oranges here.  An ELF is an ELF - the aims and tactics are the same - defense of the earth by means of direct guerrilla action. Q:  In other words, violence.  Isn't that a contradiction when you claim to be an environmentalist? A:  Yes.  In truth it's not possible to wear both hats.  By definition, an environmentalist cherishes all life - including greedy, thoughtless people.  Turns out, I was one of those thoughtless people too Q:  So why did you resort to violence? A:  I justified my behavior by claiming "self defense".  In reality I was a pissed off, frustrated sociopath.  I see that now.  An incident pushed me over the edge of rational behavior.  Back then I lived in an agricultural area.  Lots of artichoke and strawberry fields.  One day I was driving into town and I got sprayed with Parathion.  A crop duster zoomed by me from behind.  His wingtips were no more than fifteen feet from my car.  Before I had time to roll up the windows and close my vent, I drove into a toxic cloud.  I went directly to the agricultural commissioner's office and reported the incident.  Nothing ever came of it.  For several hours I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin.  Parathion is an organophosphate poison that was developed by German scientists in WW II as a nerve gas.  After the war they started using it to kill insect pests.  The incident served as a catalyst.  The ELF was born. Q:  But the first ELF action had nothing to do with pesticides or the environment, did it? A:  In March of '77, ELF claimed responsibility for shooting the windows out of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein's vacation home with an air-powered pistol.  It was a target of opportunity and no one was home at the time.  Ms. Feinstein was then a San Francisco county supervisor.  The action was in retaliation for the jail house death of a young black inmate.  He went into diabetic shock and died for lack of an insulin shot.  ELF demanded that a medical screening program be initiated for all new prisoners.  The rationale: the inmate was one of earth's creatures and he died of neglect. Q:  I still see this contradiction.  On the one hand you feign concern for this unfortunate...(continued next web page) To continue with the interview, please click here "Interview With ELF Founder"