The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (August 2019) |
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Terrorism and political violence |
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Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property.[1][2]
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or their property by an environmentally oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature."[3] The FBI attributed eco-terrorists to US $200 million in property damage between 2003 and 2008. A majority of states in the US have introduced laws aimed at penalizing eco-terrorism.[4]
Eco-terrorism is a form of radical environmentalism that arose out of the same school of thought that brought about deep ecology, ecofeminism, social ecology, and bioregionalism.[5]