A Perspective re: Glorifying Eco-Terrorism

Yesterday while scanning the news, I came across a blog entry that addressed the issue of Glorifying Eco-Terrorism. The entry was based on an article detailing the activities of a prior Canadian Coast Guardsman and “Eco-Warrior”; also an original member of Greenpeace. Apparently, this guy has been ramming other ships at sea as a protest.

What really caught my attention were some of the mindless comments made by one blogger:

“PAUL WATSON is a HERO. He’s done what you don’t have the balls to do.”

Well…I reject the concept that a person can engage in breaking the law because it aligns with their own belief. I’m getting a bit tired of irresponsible behavior by people.

Here’s my reply to the blog comment:

While I’m NOT going to stand on the side of the road that thinks that ramming and sinking ships is a good thing, I DO believe that we have a certain responsibility to maintain our environment.

Easy AdSense by Unreal

I realize that some will stand on the sidelines and yell, “Yeah!! That was cool. Another boat was sunk.” Well, frankly, I think that idea is completely counterintuitive to the goal of maintaining our globe. (I really would like to say that idea is just plain stupid…but that wouldn’t be nice…so I won’t)

Having been a maritime investigator, I’ve been out there when a ship goes down. Does anybody have any idea how much toxic junk enters our seas when that happens? Does somebody actually think that it just evaporates because it was put there to support their unthinking ideals? When a ship is lost, that’s the first thing that investigators look for…the oil sheen and which way it drifted to determine where it may have originated from.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for protecting the environment…just smartly.

In fact, in my new book, “Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System” I devote an entire chapter to the issue of ballast water and the deadly non-indigenous species that impact our economy and the ecosystem. This is an issue that brought President Clinton to write an Executive Order with the intent of bringing about some regulation. Unfortunately, few listened and everyday tons of dangerous biotic invaders cause us harm.

So rather than cheering the sinking of boats by people who feel they have a right to disregard the law, perhaps folks might serve their cause better by asking their Congressman why they failed to support regulation that causes our world so much harm.

That’s just my two cents.

Anthony M. Davis
Author: Terrorism and the Maritime Transportation System