Dave Foreman (1946–2022)

Ecodefense is a superb guide to non-violent sabotage to protect natural areas. The section on tree-spiking is very detailed, and includes instructions for making non-metallic spikes that cannot be detected by metal detectors. The chapter on road spikes is the finest writing on blocking roads that I have seen – better than military countermobility manuals. Cheap, simple to make and easy to deploy road spikes and spike drivers are described in detail.
Likewise, the section on sabotaging equipment is also excellent. The emphasis is on heavy construction vehicles, but everything from snowmobiles to light aircraft are covered. There is a section on how to scuttle a ship. Other targets covered include waste discharge pipes, power lines, billboards, and survey stakes. The emphasis is on mechanical sabotage, with some good information on arson methods. Explosives are not used.
The section on operational security is excellent. Planning, infiltration, and contacting the media safely are topics covered. Stealthy night movement technique by foot and vehicle are detailed. The forensics information is very good. However, the information on telephones, radios, computers, typewriters, night vision equipment, cameras, and surveillance and counter surveillance electronics are hopelessly out-of-date. It would be dangerous to follow this 2002 book’s advice on such things.… (mais)

A look at the role of overpopulation in the world's environmental problems. Refreshing because it doesn't focus solely on the bad people-related things that happen, but instead considers the effect on the rest of the species (Earthlings, as Foreman calls all of us). While touching on the negative impacts of population growth on socioeconomic human issues, he notes that, even if we could overcome those problems (which he is not that optimistic about), we would still not be able to overcome the problem that more people means less wild, and less for other species. The only thing I found to bother me about this book is a zing at the idea of progress; there is indeed human progress that can be made without hurting the modern world, and staying like the Amish won't solve anything, and will only keep human misery caught back in the past, which will lead to another cycle of landscalping. To his credit, Foreman does come to this same conclusion; his main concern is with reducing human population down to a manageable level, so that our birth rate doesn't outstrip all the positive steps we make in lowering our consumption. A must read.… (mais)