Earth First! journal here to stay
By Lia Salciccia
CVfpori Q*n\ € met a*cl
The Forth Fir*t' lournnl began in l‘)80 ns a
crude, photocopied newsletter, published from
"wherever they happened to In* nt the time ”
After 13 years, five more locations and an offer
from the Eugene-based Southern Willamette Earth
First!, the publication is now a polished, tabloid
formatted journal with a fixed home in Eugene
"The environment is not just falling apart, it's
being destroyed." John Green, one of the long-term
editors of the journal, said "When you take any
action that's going to affect the earth, you have got
to put the earth first in making vour decision And
if you believe that, you're an Earth Eirstter "
Earth First! and the journal that carries its name
were born at the same time, the journal being a
major networking and informational tool for the
many Earth First!ors scattered about the globe.
Just ns the group believed mainstream environ
mental groups such as the Sierra Club did not rep
resent the same interests be< ause of the Sierra
Club's willingness to c ompromise. they believed
the mainstream media ignored or trivialized the
important issues in the light to save the planet
The journal is published in true alternative style
— structured as a collet live of four long-term peo
ple with rotating short-term positions, put togeth
er on computers in the house of the four main edi
tors/publishers. run on a shoestring budget and
relying on submissions for copy
"I haven’t had a whole lot ol experience in
newspapers." Kimberly Dawn, another long-term
editor, said, "but I've had seven years of expe
rience as an Earth FirstVr ”
The four people w ho yyore yvilling to do tin* jour
nal for the next year were also the only ones who
showed up to a meeting who wore willing to com
mit for a year.
Printing costs are covered by subscription rates
(a year of eight issues lor $25), donations and the
sales of items such as I -shirts.
The editors don't claim to be journalists they
see their functions differently . Kimberley Dawn,
who has committed herself to the journal for one
year, said the mission statement of both Earth
First! and the journal is "no compromise in
defense of Mother Earth
Hence, they try to stay away from articles about
what Dawn calls "anthropocentric issues." or the
presentation of environmental issues through the
angle of its impact on humans.
That is essentially the niche of the journal,
Mi '4V,AN f
John Green, one of the editors ot the Earth First!
Journal, speaks at an Earth First! meeting
which coincides with the philosophy ol Earth
First! — 'That humans are soon as just one s|>et ie%
amongst countless many with no rights suponor to
other spin it's. ' long term editor Craig Honnovtlle
said.
Often the rei ipient of negative press from main
stream journalism. Earth First1 has an opportune
tv with its journal to present its side ol the issue
I he group has been i ailed terrorist lor such i on
troversial actions as tree spiking and sabotaging
logging equipment, to name a few examples preva
lent m the Northwest
Hut Earth First! operates upon a different defin
ition of terrorism than its a< i users
"The media defines property destrut turn as vio
lent." Dawn said "Earth First! has never done vio
leni.e to any living thing
Green said Earth First! has been i ailed .1 terrm
ist organization partly from "propaganda by the
government" and partly from "misinterpretation of
what yve do
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