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 device

Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....

s in defense of the environment.

History

The name was founded by John Hanna

John Hanna

John Hanna may refer to:*John Hanna , Montreal Canadiens hockey player*John Hanna , founder of the original ELF*John A. Hanna , United States Representative from Pennsylvania...

 who was the only member of the group to be arrested and convicted for the use of explosives on federal property. The ELF conducted armed actions in northern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 and disbanded in 1978 following Hanna's arrest for placing incendiary devices on seven crop-dusters at the Salinas, California

Salinas, California

Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...

 airport on May Day

May Day

May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....

, 1977.

They said that "warfare" designed pesticides were being used on domestic crops, specifically a chemical banned after its extensive use in Vietnam. A communique to The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

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, with the following claim that:
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, Oregon

Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...

. 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.

Modern ELF

Several years later, the ELF acronym resurfaced, representing another eco-guerilla entity with similar philosophies, the Earth Liberation Front

Earth Liberation Front

The Earth Liberation Front , also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment".The ELF was founded...

. There is no link between the two groups and John Hanna no longer advocates the tactics of either group.

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, he 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."

External links

• Q&A with Original ELF founder, John Hanna
• Earth Liberation Front
• Environmental Life Force
• ELF declares 'war' on pesticides, Independent, May 20, 1977, Santa Cruz, C.A.
• ELF Guerrillas Fight Ecocide, Open Road, vol #4, Aug. 1977, Vancouver, B.C.