Earth First: Regional Green Revolution
Maine Earth First
With the green revolution always needing a new front leader and a more aggressive push towards action and away from complacency, the Earth First organization has stepped in to fill a void. Offering themselves as the alternative and solution to the following problems: wimpy environmental groups, overpaid corporate environmentalists, reductionist approaches of scientists, Earth First promotes effective, direct action as the only way to go.
It seems that the protection of wilderness across the country is the principal struggle for Earth First, and by allowing regional groups to franchise off of the main mother organization, they’ve successfully created a template for widespread action and success all over the country. Earth First notes that they “have succeeded in cases where other environmental groups had given up, and have drawn public attention to the crises facing the natural world.”
The Earth First Movement was named in 1979, in direct response to lax corporate environmental efforts, and have since leveraged grass roots spirit and organization, legal action, and civil disobedience in service of their agendas. Citing a distinct difference between organization and movement, Earth First notes there are no members, only Earth Firsters. This comes from “a belief in biocentrism, that life of the Earth comes first, and a practice of putting our beliefs into action.” Continue reading
