Steve Vanderheidens article, Radical Environmentalism in an Age of Antiterrorism, dwells on the

controversy in regards of ecotage in the political aspect of environmental science. Having analyzed the
article, it is the subtle nod towards a parallel of terrorism in ecotage that galvanizes the targeted audience;
Vanderheiden begins this process by first introducing the jargon, as illegal and nonpublic acts that are
motivated by a sense of religious or moral concern that aim to stop, frustrate, or slow down some
process or act believed to be harmful to the environment. The underlying yet crucial keyword in the
definition is non-public; as readers begin to grasp the idea of an ecotage, it is nature to correlate this
vernacular term to a simplified termprotest. Vanderheiden, writing presciently, immediately specifies
the difference between protest and ecotage; simply being that protesters are responsible for their actions
whereas persons involved in an ecotage remain anonymous. This parallel escalates as Vanderheiden
advances from spikes in wood logs (Earth First!) to the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
This approach, rather distasteful, categorizes ecotage and the 9/11 attack in the same tier based on
technicalitiesthe 2001 USA-PATRIOT Act, which construes the inclusion of inanimate objects
damaged, by means of fire or an explosive, any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property used
in interstate or foreign commerce. Proceeding this point, Vanderheiden finally reaches the core of his
article: the dissimilarity in ecotage and terrorism, in which he frankly answers the crucial difference in
moral status [is] between persons and inanimate objects.

In an ethical aspect, Vanderheidens article certainly suades the reader to question the moral standing of
ecotage, especially with such drastic allusions and comparisons such as horrific terrorist attacks.
However, the preeminent notion in this article is the simple, yet powerful words of Martin Luther King Jr:
the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

In an array of persuasive feats, Vanderheiden undoubtably vituperated ecotage and the need for this tactic
in the arsenal of the radical environmental movement.

Word Count: 341

Character Count: 2,244