Environmental Life Force (ELF) was the first radical environmental group to use explosive and incendiary devices in defense of the environment. It was founded by John Hanna who was the only member of the group to be arrested and convicted for the use of explosives on federal property. The ELF conducted armed actions in northern California and Oregon. The original ELF disbanded in 1978 following Hanna's arrest for placing incendiary devices on seven crop-dusters at the Salinas, California airport on May Day, 1977 [1]. Several years later, the ELF acronym resurfaced, representing another eco-guerilla entity with similar philosophies, the Earth Liberation Front. There is no formal link between the two groups and John Hanna no longer advocates the tactics of either group, explaining, "We don't need more unibombers and idiots like my former ELF persona, running around trying to change the world by coercion and intimidation. That just doesn't get things done" [2].
