Green Options » vandalism

Yellowstone Webcam Catches Men Using Old Faithful as Toilet

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:26:10 +0000

A webcam installed last year to broadcast live streaming video of Yellowstone National Park’s iconic Old Faithful Geyser around the world was instrumental in the arrest of six vandals last week. As seen in photos released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a group of six trespassers ventured off the visitor boardwalk; two apparently urinated and one dropped a rock into what is arguably the world’s most famous geyser.

Outraged by what they saw on their home computers on the evening of May 4th, viewers of the Old Faithful webcam contacted park officials who then dispatched park rangers. The trespassers were apprehended as they returned to the boardwalk twenty minutes later.

UK Celebrates Success Of Eco-Schools

Sonya — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:09:41 +0000

Over half of schools in England have achieved Eco-School status, UK Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced today.

“Schools have an important part to play in helping young people to build a greener future for us all and it’s young people that will lead the way in creating a healthy environment for future generations,” says Secretary Benn.

Run by Keep Britain Tidy, the Eco-Schools program encourages children and teachers to make their school more environmentally-friendly and sustainable. They follow a simple seven step process covering themes including waste, healthy living and biodiversity.

Canadian Conservationists Asked to Stop Their Loonie Campaign

Alex Felsinger — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:13:19 +0000

An environmental group had been distributing decals that fit perfectly onto Canada’s $1 loonie coin for the past week, but now the Royal Canadian Mint has ordered that they cease and desist.

The Dogwood Initiative began distributing the decals in order to call attention to the government’s support of a plan that would allow oil tankers to come closer to British Columbia’s north coast. The decal effectively turned the water surrounding the loonie black to represent the damage of an oil spill.

Red, Green and Blue: Crazy Acts or Civil Disobedience?

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:00:56 +0000

Image source: Nature.comEditor's note: This week, Shirley and Jimmy take on the subject of radical environmentalism. Are acts of vandalism, break-ins and civil disobedience always wrong, or do they sometimes serve a greater purpose?

Shirley: Fake blood tossed onto socialites wearing fur coats. Late-night liberation of laboratory animals. Wholesale destruction of Hummers and gas-guzzlers in California parking lots. The lists of exploits by some radical animal-rights and extreme environmental groups reads more like rap sheets than a honorable curriculum vitae. For reasonable stewards of the Earth, breaking and entry, theft, destruction of physical property and other mayhem serve no purpose.

Or do they? I don't condone violence or criminal acts as a means of conveying a message, however well-intended the message might be. But I have to admit that, sometimes — just sometimes — a crazy or even slightly illegal (as if there is such a thing in the eyes of the law) act by a group like, say, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) brings to light a practice that's been kept in the dark largely because it's unpleasant, harmful or cruel. The act of sneaking hidden cameras into poultry processing plants, for example, opened a lot of people's eyes to just how unnecessarily inhumane the methods of turning chickens into wings and nuggets actually are. So is there an argument to be made that maybe, just maybe, the occasional whack attack by radical vegans or Luddites is a justifiable act of civil disobedience? I'd have to say, cautiously, yes.