Greenpeace

Greenpeace started in 1970, when activists from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament wanted to stop a planned nuclear test in Alaska. The test was not prevented, but it laid the groundwork for the Greenpeace organization.

Though the organisation is nonviolent, it has engaged in some radical, activities. In French Polynesia, Greenpeace engaged in civil disobedience to protest nuclear experiments taking place there.

In 1985, the French blew up the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior to prevent the organisations protest of nuclear testing.

Since then, Greenpeace has only been more radicalised. It has chained itself to coal power plants, and recently made headlines blocking Japanese whaling ships from refuelling. During one incident in 2006, the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise was rammed into by a Japanese whaling ship.

1n 2008, Greenpeace activists have dumped about 180 massive boulders (0.5 to 3 tons each) into the waters off of Sweden. This has been to make bottom trawling impossible.
Bottom trawling involves dragging chained nets over the sea floor to scoop up the catch. It’s a devastating practice that can yield as much as 80 percent by catch – unwanted marine life, which is then thrown back into the water, often dead or in grave health.
Greenpeace are also committed to ensuring that firms the world over are taking care to develop and use eco policies, that are safe for the planet and environment. In March of this year, Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics criticised Dell and HP for their lack of eco friendliness, but commended Apple and Phillips for their efforts to ensure a healthier planet.

Earth First! (EF)

“To put it simply, the Earth must come first.” This is the basic ideology behind this organization’s aims. Earth First! (EF) is a radical environmentalist group that believes anything must be done in order to protect mother earth. Members of the group believe in biocentrism, the belief that every life of every species is equally valuable.

EF is most well known for its alleged attempted bombing in the UK in 1990. In the incident, a bomb placed in activist Judi Bari’s car detonated, injuring her and fellow activist Darryl Cheney. After the Bari bombing incident, EF became primarily associated with non-violent direct action activities.

EF was formed in the spring of 1980 after angry environmentalists decided the environmentalist movement was being ‘sold out’ by mainstream environmentalists working for corporate cronies. It was the first ‘mainstream’ environmental extremist group, and is continuing to inspire other organisations such as Mainshill Solidarity Camp.
In November 2009, activists from the Mainshill Solidarity Camp stopped a massive harvesting machine from working on a site, when one person locked-on to it by the neck. This involves ‘chaining’ one’s body to either machinery or railings using chains, often bike locks. Work was stopped for 5 hours and the protestor who locked on is due to appear at the local courts.

 Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

“Phasing out the human race by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth’s biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense.”

This is the mission statement of ‘Voluntary Human Extinction Movement’ (VHEMT, pronounced vehement).

The basic concept behind VHEMT movement is the belief that the Earth would be better off without humans, and as such, humans should refuse to breed. This doesn’t, however, mean humans should be forced not to breed. The group was founded by Les U. Knight, whose stated life’s work is “to phase out the human race by non-coercive means”. The radical nature of its mission statement ensures that it is categorised with other extremist organisations.

Sources

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/offbeat-news/top-4-environmental-extremist-groups/742
http://members.greenpeace.org/action/index.php
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/greenpeace-drops-boulders-into-swedish-seas-to-prevent-bottom-trawling.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjlCGR_ggbw&feature=related
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/03/31/greenpeace_gtge_v11/environmentalism