Earth Liberation Front Takes Destructive Path

Re “Radicals Target SUVs in Series of Southland Attacks,” Aug. 23: I come from an extended family of longtime environmental protectionists. In our version of activism, we preserve, we don’t destroy. I wonder if the Earth Liberation Front affiliates considered the tremendous volume of toxic pollutants created when they set fire to a large construction site, a car dealership and 20-odd vehicles? How does that liberate the Earth?

Hilary Hartman Kip

Van Nuys

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Last week, while I was making deliveries in my little pickup truck, I was momentarily blocked in an underground garage by a woman trying to maneuver her SUV into a parking space. Five minutes later, after I made my delivery, I returned to find her still in her vehicle, pinned against a concrete column and unable to move. With my directions, she managed to free herself, and I left without participating in the examination of the side of her SUV.

My sympathy for her was short-lived, as I remembered all the other times I have had close encounters of the road-hog kind with SUV drivers. And now the ELF has struck. Although I don’t condone destruction of property, I bet I was not alone in my initial reaction: two dozen down, 20 million left to go.

John Horne

Redondo Beach

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Saving the environment by defacing SUVs? This makes as much sense as attacking Iraq to eliminate terrorism. Reasonable, thoughtful voters who are concerned about our environmental policies will certainly be repulsed by the actions of the ELF. Social policy is best changed by working within the political system to elect candidates who think the way we do.

As a lifetime member of the Sierra Club, I care deeply about the environmental quality of our planet, and I believe political activism and donations are much more effective than terrorist activities. Stop the vandalism. It alienates the people who can help the environment the most -- the voters.

Gale Connell

Lake Elsinore