The Academy Award-nominated story of the radicalization of an environmental…
Wrenched
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- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
From Upton Sinclair's The Jungle to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, American literature has a history of being in the vanguard when it comes to activism about controversial issues. The books of Edward Abbey carry on that tradition, with memoirs like Desert Solitaire and the classic comic novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang, taking on the degradation of the American Southwest.
WRENCHED reveals how Edward Abbey's anarchistic spirit and riotous novels influenced and helped guide the nascent environmental movement of the 1970s and '80s. Through interviews, archival footage and re-enactments, the film captures the outrage of Abbey's friends who were the original eco-warriors. In defense of wilderness, these early activists pioneered 'monkeywrenching' - a radical blueprint for 'wrenching the system.' Exemplified by EarthFirst! in the early '80s, direct action and civil disobedience grew in popularity.
WRENCHED captures a new generation of monkeywrenchers who use Abbey's books as a source of inspiration. They are personified by Tim DeChristopher, who single-handedly stopped the sale of 100,000+ acres of public trust lands in southeastern Utah. The fight continues to sustain the last bastion of the American frontier - the spirit of the West. And WRENCHED, following in Abbey's footsteps, asks the question: How far are we willing go in defense of wilderness?
'Very fine...A loving tribute to Edward Abbey's life as an artist and activist as well as a very astute assessment of Earth First!...As is the case in all good documentaries--and this one is about as good as they come--the goal is to force you to think about the issues that are posed.' Louis Proyect, CounterPunch
'Wrenched is a powerful, must-see documentary. It offers viewers not just a portrait of Ed Abbey, but a chorus of voices crying out in the wilderness about the need for more wrenches to be shoved into the cogs of the machines. This movie teaches us about anarchism, eco-sabotage, environmentalism, eco-terrorism, and monkey wrenching, but it also asks us to offer no compromise in defense of Mother Earth.' Sean Prentiss, Assistant Professor of English, Norwich University, Author, Finding Abbey: A Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Grave
'Wrenched is an excellent movie - visually exciting, informative, and perfect for classroom viewings. The movie brings the past into the present, depicting how 'Bidder 70' and other young activists received their inspiration from Abbey and friends. A must-see for all those in environmental studies!' Dr. Janneli F. Miller, Visiting Professor of Environmental Studies, Fort Lewis College
'The public and political legacy of Edward Abbey is one which all students, supporters, and scholars of nature and wilderness should be aware. Without his writing, rhetoric, and wrenching as models of activism, the American environmental movement would be much the poorer. Wrenched is an essential resource for anyone who wants to know what needs to be done.' Ronnie D. Lipschutz, Professor of Politics, University of California-Santa Cruz
'In the years since The Monkey Wrench Gang's publication, many young activists have treated it not as a novel, but as a handbook. ML Lincoln's Wrenched draws a direct line from The Monkey Wrench Gang through Earth First! to the recent heroic actions of Tim DeChristopher. Wrenched is essential viewing for anyone interested in the last forty years of environmental activism and the people, literature, and ideas that fueled it - essential viewing for anyone who loves a landscape enough to defend it.' David Thomas Sumner, Professor of English and Environmental Studies, Linfield College
'A compelling, dynamic account of the rise and transformation of direct-action environmentalism in America. Rich in rare archival footage and animated by engaging interviews with important activists and writers, Wrenched would make a terrific addition to any study of Edward Abbey, radical environmentalism, or the environmental history of the American West.' Michael P. Branch, Professor of English, University of Nevada-Reno, Author, Raising Wild and Rants from the Hill (forthcoming)
'Brimming with informative interviews, vintage film footage, and beautiful images, Wrenched offers a compelling portrait of this famously irascible defender of wild lands. Old fans will recall why they first came to love his work, and new ones may well be inspired to create a more passionate and participatory environmental movement in the present day.' Dr. Brian Allen Drake, Senior Lecturer, Environmental History, University of Georgia, Author, Loving Nature, Fearing the State: Environmentalism and Antigovernment Politics Before Reagan
'An excellent and scenic study of the distinctive radical environmentalism of Ed Abbey and his friends and followers. Perhaps its most valuable contribution is bringing the story up to date. If you haven't heard of Tim DeChristopher, you need to watch this movie; if you have, see it to learn more.' James M. Cahalan, Professor Emeritus of English, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Author, Edward Abbey: A Life
'Prior movements and individual actions, including those chronicled in Wrenched, will help us determine the place and form that our stand can take. This film shares important stories of those who have chosen and continue to choose to take their own.' David Osborn, Earth Island Journal
'Influential...an incredible cast of characters...ML Lincoln captures the outrage of Abbey's friends, the original eco-warriors, through interviews, archival footage and re-enactments...Abbey's message has lived on.' Stefanie Spear, EcoWatch
'Vivid, inspiring and beautiful film...Through the words of Abbey's friends, the stunning footage of the land he loved, and his own unique and curmudgeonly voice, he is brought back to life in this vitally relevant movie. Long live Ed Abbey! Long live Wrenched!' David Gessner, Professor of Creative Writing, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Author, All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West
'Wrenched's filmmakers take a balanced approach to what some would consider violent or radical civil disobedience...The movie doesn't really ask the moviegoer to take a side, but it does provoke thought and suggest actions to be taken, no matter which side of social justice activities you might stand on.' Joanna, Santa Fe Film Festival
'Part history, part documentary, and a call to action, Wrenched is a must-see for any lover of the American Southwest and those who fight to save its beautiful wildness.' Breckenridge Festival of Film
'Wrenched portrays Abbey and friends with ruthless honesty...[The film] makes the most of Abbey's quotes and the dedication his friends have to him and their beloved wilderness. It closed to a standing ovation in Moab.' Janneli Miller, Four Corners Free Press
'An excellent, well-crafted and gut-wrenching documentary.' Diane Sward Rapaport, Author, Home Sweet Jerome, Death and Rebirth of Arizona's Richest Copper City
'This award-winning documentary examines the power of activism...Libraries with strong environmental collections will want to have this on their shelves.' Patricia Ann Owens, Illinois Eastern Community College, School Library Journal
Citation
Main credits
Lincoln, M. L. (film producer)
Lincoln, M. L. (film director)
Gambuti, Patrick (film producer)
Gambuti, Patrick (screenwriter)
Gambuti, Patrick (film editor)
Frazier, Kristi (film producer)
Loeffler, Jack (narrator)
Other credits
Original music composed by Andrew Gross; cinematography by Ed George, Bryan Reinhart.
Distributor subjects
Activism; American Studies; Anthropology; Capitalism; Civil Disobedience; Climate Change/Global Warming; Community; Conservation; Ecology; English Literature; Environmental Ethics; Geography; Government; Human Rights; Law; Mining; Natural Resources; Political Science; Pollution; Rivers; Sabotage; Social Justice; Sociology; Water; Western USKeywords
WEBVTT
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- Like so many others
in this century,
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I found myself a displaced
person shortly after birth.
00:00:14.058 --> 00:00:16.299
And I have been
looking half my life
00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:18.060
for a place to take my stand.
00:00:45.566 --> 00:00:47.041
- Stand by for action.
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- OK.
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- Action.
00:00:51.494 --> 00:00:54.049
- Of all the books
Ed Abbey has written,
00:00:54.050 --> 00:00:57.589
none are more famous than the
ones about canyon country.
00:00:57.590 --> 00:01:00.059
\"Desert Solitaire\" and
\"The Monkey Wrench Gang\"
00:01:00.060 --> 00:01:02.433
are southern Utah classics.
00:01:02.434 --> 00:01:05.894
- I\'d go so far as to say that a
bulldozer tearing up a hillside
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is committing a kind of
terrorism against life.
00:01:13.630 --> 00:01:16.679
- At this mine, 7
billion tons of coal
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are being strip mined each year.
00:01:19.151 --> 00:01:19.900
- Monkeywrenching.
00:01:19.901 --> 00:01:22.899
It\'s part guerrilla
theater, part sabotage.
00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:24.929
(HOWLING)
00:01:24.930 --> 00:01:29.089
- Compromise is a losing
game at this time.
00:01:29.090 --> 00:01:30.519
- While denouncing
the road block,
00:01:30.520 --> 00:01:32.829
forestry officials
concede that it probably
00:01:32.830 --> 00:01:36.809
speeded legislation which set
aside a million acres of forest
00:01:36.810 --> 00:01:37.929
as wilderness land.
00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:39.558
- I think it\'s my
duty as an American
00:01:39.559 --> 00:01:41.349
to protect and defend
this kind of country.
00:01:41.350 --> 00:01:44.718
I think this land is too
beautiful and too precious
00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:48.601
to be turned into an
industrial dump of any kind.
00:01:48.602 --> 00:01:50.809
- An environmental activist
threw a controversial oil
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and gas auction into chaos.
00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:54.989
- I believe they\'re
terrorists in their actions.
00:01:54.990 --> 00:01:57.419
- Four people are in federal
custody this morning.
00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:00.214
- What you have is an
attempt not to bring justice,
00:02:00.215 --> 00:02:02.541
but to silence a movement.
00:02:06.870 --> 00:02:09.025
- Human society is like a stew.
00:02:09.026 --> 00:02:10.869
If you don\'t keep
it get stirred up,
00:02:10.870 --> 00:02:13.991
you get a lot of scum on top.
00:02:13.992 --> 00:02:14.968
Agitate.
00:02:14.969 --> 00:02:16.920
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:02:31.570 --> 00:02:34.319
- Thank you all
for coming tonight.
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It\'s really difficult
for me to wrap my mind
00:02:37.490 --> 00:02:41.339
around the very idea
that Ed Abbey has
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been gone for 20 years today.
00:02:49.160 --> 00:02:52.519
His words and his books
are still as relevant,
00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:56.419
and there\'s such a deep
philosophical underpinning
00:02:56.420 --> 00:03:01.499
in even his most cavalier
tales of personal adventure
00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:08.369
that I think it expresses
a lot of people\'s attitudes
00:03:08.370 --> 00:03:11.209
about wilderness preservation.
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That\'s why we couldn\'t
let this anniversary go
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by without commemorating it.
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So I was fortunate enough to
be able to get Ken Sleight, Mr.
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Old School, and Tim
DeChristopher, Mr. New School,
00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:27.039
on the same bill together.
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And I have to think that old
Cactus Ed would be awfully
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proud that his works had
a part in inspiring Tim
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DeChristopher\'s actions.
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- I started reading
Edward Abbey when
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I was 18, which is probably
why I turned out like this.
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It\'s kind of a dangerous age
to start reading \"The Monkey
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Wrench Gang.\"
00:03:47.630 --> 00:03:51.969
I was old enough
to understand it,
00:03:51.970 --> 00:03:53.669
but not quite old
enough to realize
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that it wasn\'t a manual.
00:03:55.970 --> 00:03:58.179
- Environmentalists treat
the man like a hero,
00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:01.559
but now he faces the possibility
of 10 years in federal prison.
00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:04.379
- A federal grand jury today
indicted environmental activist
00:04:04.380 --> 00:04:07.119
Tim DeChristopher
on two felony counts
00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:10.323
for disrupting a federal
auction of oil and gas leases.
00:04:10.324 --> 00:04:11.739
- Reading Edward
Abbey, I realized
00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:13.419
that there was kind of a
different way to do things,
00:04:13.420 --> 00:04:14.889
and environmentalists
didn\'t always
00:04:14.890 --> 00:04:16.219
have to play by the rules.
00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:19.338
And I think if we\'re going to
have a future, a lot of people
00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:22.109
are going to have to think about
what it really personally means
00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:24.629
to stand up and defend the
things that we care about.
00:04:24.630 --> 00:04:27.249
And I think a lot of
the answers to that
00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:28.785
can be found in Edward Abbey.
00:04:28.786 --> 00:04:30.409
He\'s got a lot of
inspiration for that.
00:04:30.410 --> 00:04:34.249
Not that we should be
following exactly what he did,
00:04:34.250 --> 00:04:37.329
but that we should feel
as passionately as he did.
00:04:37.330 --> 00:04:40.379
That we should take it
as personally as he did,
00:04:40.380 --> 00:04:43.620
and that we should get as
angry as Edward Abbey did.
00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:46.459
- Who needs wilderness?
00:04:46.460 --> 00:04:49.399
Civilization needs wilderness.
00:04:49.400 --> 00:04:52.019
The idea of wilderness
preservation is one
00:04:52.020 --> 00:04:56.359
of the fruits of civilization,
like Bach\'s music,
00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:59.839
Tolstoy\'s novels, Novocain,
space travel, free love,
00:04:59.840 --> 00:05:01.839
the double martini,
the secret ballot,
00:05:01.840 --> 00:05:04.479
and a thousand another
good things one could name,
00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.519
some of them trivial,
most of them essential,
00:05:07.520 --> 00:05:12.029
all of them vital to that great
bubbling, disorderly, anarchic,
00:05:12.030 --> 00:05:14.759
unmanageable diversity
of opinion, expression,
00:05:14.760 --> 00:05:18.299
and ways of living which
free men and women love,
00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:21.259
and which the authoritarians
of church and state and war
00:05:21.260 --> 00:05:25.099
and sometimes even art despise
and always have despised...
00:05:25.100 --> 00:05:26.100
and feared.
00:05:30.530 --> 00:05:33.369
- Ed and I were camping
buddies primarily.
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Both of us came from Appalachia.
00:05:35.810 --> 00:05:38.879
And we both fell in love
with this incredible place.
00:05:38.880 --> 00:05:41.459
The American Southwest...
00:05:41.460 --> 00:05:43.809
the centerpiece of
the American Southwest
00:05:43.810 --> 00:05:45.789
is the Colorado
Plateau, which is
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one of the most
beautiful environments
00:05:48.310 --> 00:05:50.939
in the entire world.
00:05:50.940 --> 00:05:54.479
To see it be desecrated
by industrialism
00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:58.029
and its various components
was more than either of us
00:05:58.030 --> 00:05:59.389
could bear.
00:05:59.390 --> 00:06:01.714
It was like Armageddon
happening right there
00:06:01.715 --> 00:06:06.049
before your very
eyes in paradise.
00:06:06.050 --> 00:06:11.049
- Ed helped make that sense that
we\'d done something terrible
00:06:11.050 --> 00:06:12.679
and we\'re not going
to do it anymore
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and we\'re going to fix
it, restore things.
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He made that almost
a national idea.
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- And I\'ve always felt that
my family, my generation
00:06:25.580 --> 00:06:28.529
of Western wilderness people,
were probably more influenced
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by Abbey than anybody else.
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He sort of was a voice for us.
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(HONKING)
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And that influence helped us
take a more irreverent look
00:06:48.100 --> 00:06:49.339
at things.
00:06:49.340 --> 00:06:53.099
It allowed us to really
think outside the box
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and take things in
a new direction.
00:06:57.112 --> 00:07:00.829
- When I first came to the
Arches country back in 1956,
00:07:00.830 --> 00:07:03.149
this was the official
entrance road.
00:07:03.150 --> 00:07:07.909
Eight miles of sand
and dust and rocks.
00:07:07.910 --> 00:07:11.549
And when it rained, as it
sometimes did, a lot of this
00:07:11.550 --> 00:07:13.129
turned into quicksand.
00:07:13.130 --> 00:07:15.135
Real wheel sucking muck.
00:07:19.398 --> 00:07:20.840
But I loved it.
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Of course, I was paid
to love this place.
00:07:23.260 --> 00:07:27.609
I was a park ranger
in those days.
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In the mid-\'60s, I was advised
by a publisher to write a book
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about my experiences
as a park ranger.
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Partly a book of
personal history.
00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:42.099
One man\'s odyssey in
search of his Ithaca.
00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:43.070
- \"Desert Solitaire.\"
00:07:43.071 --> 00:07:47.229
I think that really set
the stage for activism
00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:49.359
in conservation realms.
00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.289
That was a remarkable book.
00:07:51.290 --> 00:07:53.639
It was just so new, so
different, so refreshing,
00:07:53.640 --> 00:07:56.049
so funny.
00:07:56.050 --> 00:07:58.999
- And in the end piece
of his introduction
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to the original \"Desert
Solitaire,\" I think these words
00:08:01.970 --> 00:08:04.649
are still very seminal.
00:08:04.650 --> 00:08:07.649
\"You can\'t see
anything from a car.
00:08:07.650 --> 00:08:10.659
You\'ve got to get out of the
goddamn contraption and walk.
00:08:10.660 --> 00:08:14.799
Better yet, crawl on hands
and knees over the sandstone
00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:17.259
and through the thorn
bush and cactus.
00:08:17.260 --> 00:08:20.499
When traces of blood
begin to mark your trail,
00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:23.939
you\'ll see something, maybe.
00:08:23.940 --> 00:08:25.370
Probably not.\"
00:08:48.570 --> 00:08:50.739
- Right around when
Ed was 18, an event
00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:52.789
occurred that
placed him squarely
00:08:52.790 --> 00:08:56.229
on the path he\'d follow
for the rest of his life.
00:08:56.230 --> 00:09:00.749
He was drafted in World War
II and headed for Japan.
00:09:00.750 --> 00:09:06.199
And the weird sense of
relief and poignance
00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:12.469
and awfulness he must have felt
when they didn\'t have to go
00:09:12.470 --> 00:09:15.189
do that, because
the A-bomb landed
00:09:15.190 --> 00:09:18.589
on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
00:09:18.590 --> 00:09:21.389
And it was at that
point that Ed started
00:09:21.390 --> 00:09:24.729
vigorously getting people
to burn their draft cards.
00:09:24.730 --> 00:09:28.840
And he started getting his
FBI file back in 1946, \'47.
00:09:34.850 --> 00:09:37.199
I was there, alive
and unconscious,
00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:40.169
throughout the entirety
of the Second World War.
00:09:40.170 --> 00:09:44.561
And the end of that war was
the threat of nuclear war.
00:09:44.562 --> 00:09:50.329
And we\'ve all seen the
results of the films that were
00:09:50.330 --> 00:09:52.723
shot watching bombs go off.
00:09:52.724 --> 00:09:55.056
I\'ve happened to see three
of them go off at close range
00:09:55.057 --> 00:09:56.119
myself.
00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.550
(EXPLOSION)
00:10:07.160 --> 00:10:10.109
And some of us became
really inspired,
00:10:10.110 --> 00:10:12.599
and realized that everything
in the vicinity of that bomb
00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:15.629
was gone.
00:10:15.630 --> 00:10:18.399
The biotic community no
longer existed, period.
00:10:18.400 --> 00:10:22.689
And that really turned
me into what I am today.
00:10:22.690 --> 00:10:25.090
I saw that I wasn\'t
the one who was nuts.
00:10:30.630 --> 00:10:33.639
Ed really wanted to figure out
how to effectively challenge
00:10:33.640 --> 00:10:35.789
what was happening around us.
00:10:35.790 --> 00:10:39.889
His approach came from
his belief in anarchism.
00:10:39.890 --> 00:10:41.909
He got a lot of
that from his dad,
00:10:41.910 --> 00:10:46.279
who read Walt Whitman and
other thinkers to him as a kid.
00:10:46.280 --> 00:10:48.779
And it all culminated
in his master\'s thesis,
00:10:48.780 --> 00:10:53.399
titled \"Anarchism and the
Morality of Violence.\"
00:10:53.400 --> 00:10:54.479
- People get confused.
00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.769
They think anarchy means
you\'re going to throw
00:10:56.770 --> 00:10:58.454
a brick through a window.
00:10:58.455 --> 00:11:01.939
But what it means is an
absolute, in his sense...
00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:05.979
he was a classical anarchist,
meaning he didn\'t trust
00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:07.759
centralized power.
00:11:07.760 --> 00:11:11.999
That any concentration of power
is dangerous, and I agree.
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.239
- He thought that through
pure anarchist endeavor,
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:19.209
pure democracy could occur.
00:11:19.210 --> 00:11:25.319
But he had the incredible wisdom
to be able to extend that sense
00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:28.929
to go beyond the human
community to include
00:11:28.930 --> 00:11:30.030
the biotic community.
00:11:33.150 --> 00:11:36.739
- I consider myself almost
an absolute egalitarian.
00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:39.559
I think all human
beings are essentially,
00:11:39.560 --> 00:11:42.209
in some essential way, equal.
00:11:42.210 --> 00:11:44.949
By virtue of being
alive, living things,
00:11:44.950 --> 00:11:49.499
we deserve to be
respected as individuals.
00:11:49.500 --> 00:11:52.999
And I\'m saying that that
respect for the value
00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:57.394
of each human being should be
extended to each living thing.
00:12:10.342 --> 00:12:11.849
Our fellow creatures...
00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:15.129
I think a tree, a shrub,
deserves respect and sympathy
00:12:15.130 --> 00:12:16.969
as a living thing.
00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:20.569
I can even go beyond that
to the air, to the water,
00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:22.699
because it\'s all a part
of the whole, each part
00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:24.969
depending on most
of the other parts.
00:12:24.970 --> 00:12:27.839
And so we should, if
only for our own self
00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:33.539
respect and survival, learn
to love the world around us,
00:12:33.540 --> 00:12:35.814
instead of simply trying
to dominate it, subjugate
00:12:35.815 --> 00:12:42.689
it, enslave it, as we\'ve been
doing for the last 5,000 years.
00:12:42.690 --> 00:12:46.789
I think southeast Utah is one of
the great adventure places left
00:12:46.790 --> 00:12:51.349
on Earth, and I
think we should try
00:12:51.350 --> 00:12:53.399
to keep it wild and primitive.
00:12:53.400 --> 00:12:55.915
It really is the
property not only
00:12:55.916 --> 00:13:00.560
of all the American people, but
of all the people of the world.
00:13:02.910 --> 00:13:07.407
- He really felt the rage
about what was going on.
00:13:07.408 --> 00:13:10.679
And regardless of
what your issue is
00:13:10.680 --> 00:13:12.529
or what you want to
do with your life,
00:13:12.530 --> 00:13:14.519
you really have to
confront that rage
00:13:14.520 --> 00:13:17.959
if life is meaningful
beyond yourself,
00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:20.749
if you want to project
into the rest of the world.
00:13:20.750 --> 00:13:24.299
There has to be a
motivation to do something.
00:13:24.300 --> 00:13:27.986
That was what Ed, to me,
conveyed with a fire that was
00:13:27.987 --> 00:13:30.319
within him... the fire in
your belly or however you want
00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:31.040
to describe it.
00:13:31.041 --> 00:13:35.039
And it really made you think,
we have to do something.
00:13:35.040 --> 00:13:41.919
And you just can\'t go gentle
into that good night, you know?
00:13:41.920 --> 00:13:44.769
- The smog produced daily
by the local smelter...
00:13:44.770 --> 00:13:48.319
the smell is like that of
a decomposing jellyfish.
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.059
The golfers inhale the
powder and the gases,
00:13:51.060 --> 00:13:53.269
and they swell with pleasure.
00:13:53.270 --> 00:13:56.559
Mention pollution, and
they say, \"Son, that smells
00:13:56.560 --> 00:13:58.369
like money to me.\"
00:13:58.370 --> 00:14:01.719
- What is being destroyed, in
Abbey\'s view, was our home.
00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.639
The wilderness is as much of
a home as we\'ll ever have.
00:14:04.640 --> 00:14:06.463
All we\'ve ever needed, you know?
00:14:06.464 --> 00:14:09.749
Resist much, obey little.
00:14:09.750 --> 00:14:15.299
And the muscle that Abbey
put in, beyond the humor,
00:14:15.300 --> 00:14:16.429
there was an urgency there.
00:14:16.430 --> 00:14:19.959
And of course, it was
Ed\'s personal hope
00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:22.779
that he would inspire little
cells of Monkey Wrench Gang
00:14:22.780 --> 00:14:25.064
people all over the place.
00:14:25.065 --> 00:14:28.007
And anyway, he did, in a way.
00:14:28.008 --> 00:14:30.327
- I supposed to
arrival in the west,
00:14:30.328 --> 00:14:32.183
I could imagine
nothing more romantic
00:14:32.184 --> 00:14:35.549
than becoming a cowboy,
nothing more glorious
00:14:35.550 --> 00:14:39.509
than owning my own little
genuine working cattle outfit.
00:14:39.510 --> 00:14:41.041
The only thing
better, I thought,
00:14:41.042 --> 00:14:44.835
must be a Big League
baseball player.
00:14:44.836 --> 00:14:47.519
I never dreamed, in
those days, that I\'d sink
00:14:47.520 --> 00:14:50.709
to writing books for a living.
00:14:50.710 --> 00:14:55.229
- He was the person who
best, to my point of view,
00:14:55.230 --> 00:14:59.769
actually melded anarchism
and environmentalism.
00:14:59.770 --> 00:15:03.385
Nobody has even come close
to Ed in that respect.
00:15:05.890 --> 00:15:10.489
He developed the anarchist
theme in his writing as well.
00:15:10.490 --> 00:15:12.779
His second novel,
\"The Brave Cowboy,\"
00:15:12.780 --> 00:15:14.879
was adapted into a movie.
00:15:14.880 --> 00:15:16.909
And in that book,
Ed introduced us
00:15:16.910 --> 00:15:18.799
to a character who
would ride through four
00:15:18.800 --> 00:15:21.855
of his novels, Jack Burns.
00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:28.220
Jack loved his freedom and the
open spaces he called home.
00:15:32.020 --> 00:15:37.299
- Jack Burns was self willed,
and he wouldn\'t allow anybody
00:15:37.300 --> 00:15:40.379
to stamp their will on him.
00:15:40.380 --> 00:15:42.720
Not another person,
not the state.
00:15:48.270 --> 00:15:53.969
Here\'s Jack Burns on the
west side of Albuquerque,
00:15:53.970 --> 00:15:57.009
where Rio Rancho is now.
00:15:57.010 --> 00:15:59.479
It\'s all built up, and
you get this scene...
00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:00.854
here\'s this barbed wire fence.
00:16:00.855 --> 00:16:04.639
And Jack Burns gets down
off his horse and clips
00:16:04.640 --> 00:16:06.819
the fence and rides through.
00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:10.829
And that was, I
think, very symbolic
00:16:10.830 --> 00:16:14.829
of Jack Burns being a
throwback to the time
00:16:14.830 --> 00:16:16.350
when the West was unfenced.
00:16:19.770 --> 00:16:23.069
And in an interesting
way, that says
00:16:23.070 --> 00:16:24.999
something about wilderness.
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.734
And I think it really gets to
the heart of what wilderness
00:16:28.735 --> 00:16:30.469
is.
00:16:30.470 --> 00:16:31.989
- What are you
talking about, Jack?
00:16:31.990 --> 00:16:33.197
- Well, you don\'t understand.
00:16:33.198 --> 00:16:34.589
A westerner likes open country.
00:16:34.590 --> 00:16:36.047
That means he\'s
got to hate fences.
00:16:36.048 --> 00:16:38.215
And the more fences there
are, the more he hates it.
00:16:38.216 --> 00:16:40.306
- I never heard such
nonsense in my life.
00:16:40.307 --> 00:16:41.140
- It\'s true, though.
00:16:41.141 --> 00:16:44.504
You ever notice how many
fences there are getting to be?
00:16:44.505 --> 00:16:46.629
The signs that they\'ve got
on them... \"No Hunting\",
00:16:46.630 --> 00:16:50.139
\"No hiking,\" \"No Admission\", \"No
trespass\", \"Private Property\",
00:16:50.140 --> 00:16:53.219
\"Closed Area\", \"Start Moving\",
\"Go Away\", \"Get Lost\",
00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:54.120
\"Drop Dead\".
00:16:54.121 --> 00:16:55.309
Know what I mean?
00:16:55.310 --> 00:16:56.769
- I don\'t even want to know.
00:16:56.770 --> 00:16:59.769
- And they got those fences
that say, \"This side\'s jail\".
00:16:59.770 --> 00:17:01.009
Or \"That side\'s the street\".
00:17:01.010 --> 00:17:04.449
Or here... \"Here\'s Arizona,
that\'s Nevada\", or \"This is us,
00:17:04.450 --> 00:17:05.075
that\'s Mexico.\"
00:17:05.076 --> 00:17:07.799
- Jack Burns was unfenced.
00:17:07.800 --> 00:17:11.700
So in a sense, Jack Burns
is the spirit of wilderness.
00:17:13.710 --> 00:17:20.439
- He rode through
\"The Brave Cowboy.\"
00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:24.011
He, in \"The Monkey Wrench
Gang,\" is the Lone Ranger.
00:17:24.012 --> 00:17:26.919
And it interests
me that it\'s not
00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.839
revealed to near the
end of \"Hayduke Lives!\",
00:17:29.840 --> 00:17:34.409
the sequel to \"The Monkey Wrench
Gang,\" that actually, the Lone
00:17:34.410 --> 00:17:40.739
Ranger is Jack Burns,
and that Jack Burns is
00:17:40.740 --> 00:17:44.336
the father of the radical
environmental movement.
00:17:49.760 --> 00:17:55.669
I actually have to think that
in reality, Jack Burns was Ed.
00:17:55.670 --> 00:17:57.889
- I believe that in
wildness is really
00:17:57.890 --> 00:17:59.959
the preservation of ourselves.
00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:03.329
And Ed Abbey gave me this
notion that maybe the only thing
00:18:03.330 --> 00:18:05.692
worth saving at
all was wilderness.
00:18:05.693 --> 00:18:08.459
And I agreed with
it 40 years ago,
00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:10.539
and I\'m still fighting
those battles today.
00:18:10.540 --> 00:18:11.720
And I won\'t stop.
00:18:23.750 --> 00:18:28.329
- I recorded Ed back in
January the 1st, 1983.
00:18:28.330 --> 00:18:32.019
We knew he had the malaise
that would carry him away.
00:18:32.020 --> 00:18:35.071
And one of the things
that he said in there
00:18:35.072 --> 00:18:38.119
was that he does
all of his defending
00:18:38.120 --> 00:18:40.679
from behind a typewriter,
where other people like Dave
00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.263
Foreman and Dave Brower,
to name a couple,
00:18:43.264 --> 00:18:44.680
were out there on
the front lines.
00:18:47.590 --> 00:18:49.549
But I\'m here to
tell you that Ed did
00:18:49.550 --> 00:18:51.909
a lot of defending of
habitat, and the typewriter
00:18:51.910 --> 00:18:53.759
was nowhere to be tripped over.
00:18:53.760 --> 00:18:54.889
He was out there doing it.
00:18:54.890 --> 00:18:55.890
He called it night work.
00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:01.269
- Ed had a hatred of authority
and a love of the land,
00:19:01.270 --> 00:19:06.439
and a kind of a casual way
about addressing problems.
00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:09.830
And he\'d been
monkeywrenching all his life.
00:19:12.040 --> 00:19:13.769
- Ed started cutting
down billboards
00:19:13.770 --> 00:19:16.109
back in the early 1950s.
00:19:16.110 --> 00:19:21.189
And it became really a big
deal down around Albuquerque.
00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:23.679
And he and another
group of folks
00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:25.969
were cutting down
billboards vigorously up
00:19:25.970 --> 00:19:27.853
around Taos County.
00:19:27.854 --> 00:19:29.590
(COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING)
00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:41.949
- And then Ed took over
the paper in Taos in 1959.
00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:43.649
It was called The
El Crepusculo De La
00:19:43.650 --> 00:19:47.289
Libertad, The Dawn
of Liberty, which
00:19:47.290 --> 00:19:48.689
appealed to Ed, of course.
00:19:48.690 --> 00:19:50.709
But that\'s where the
Monkey Wrench Gang began.
00:19:50.710 --> 00:19:55.369
And the funny thing is, that
the owner of the Melody Sign
00:19:55.370 --> 00:19:57.599
Company came into
the paper to put
00:19:57.600 --> 00:20:02.595
in an ad for the apprehension
of these villains, these crooks,
00:20:02.596 --> 00:20:05.839
these swine of the
earth who had done this.
00:20:05.840 --> 00:20:09.779
And he offered $4,000
for the apprehension.
00:20:09.780 --> 00:20:12.139
And Ed, being the
editor, took the ad,
00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:14.829
and suddenly burst out laughing.
00:20:14.830 --> 00:20:18.789
Later, he told me, \"God,\" he
said. \"$4,000 bucks, DePuy!
00:20:18.790 --> 00:20:22.360
I was thinking of
turning you in!\"
00:20:25.300 --> 00:20:30.869
- These people just loved the
natural resource of pure land.
00:20:30.870 --> 00:20:32.619
And they felt they
had no recourse.
00:20:32.620 --> 00:20:33.989
And monkeywrenching was simple.
00:20:33.990 --> 00:20:36.484
You know what a
wrench is, and you
00:20:36.485 --> 00:20:38.076
know what a monkey wrench is.
00:20:38.077 --> 00:20:39.743
So they were going
to wrench the system.
00:20:41.330 --> 00:20:43.359
- The spanner in the works.
00:20:43.360 --> 00:20:46.209
The wooden shoe in the
gears of the machine.
00:20:46.210 --> 00:20:47.260
That type of thing.
00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:52.419
You slow something down.
00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:54.269
You make it not
worth their while
00:20:54.270 --> 00:20:56.599
to go into certain wilderness.
00:20:56.600 --> 00:21:00.369
It\'s not overthrowing
the industrial system.
00:21:00.370 --> 00:21:01.460
It\'s not revolutionary.
00:21:04.340 --> 00:21:06.389
- I regard defending
the wilderness something
00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:08.525
like defending your own home.
00:21:08.526 --> 00:21:09.026
- Yo!
00:21:09.026 --> 00:21:09.526
Yo!
00:21:09.527 --> 00:21:12.059
- Turn it off!
00:21:12.060 --> 00:21:17.259
- And when it\'s being invaded by
clear cutters and strip miners,
00:21:17.260 --> 00:21:21.359
I feel not only the right but
the duty, the moral obligation,
00:21:21.360 --> 00:21:23.944
to defend it by any means I can.
00:21:23.945 --> 00:21:27.719
And if writing letters to
congressmen doesn\'t do it,
00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:30.689
the I am perfectly willing
myself to go out and perform
00:21:30.690 --> 00:21:33.419
illegal actions.
00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:35.889
Civil disobedience,
if that will help.
00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:39.910
And if that also fails, why,
then, even more direct action.
00:21:41.740 --> 00:21:44.169
- I had some land
near Monticello,
00:21:44.170 --> 00:21:46.219
near Devil\'s Canyon.
00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:48.109
And it was just rough, you know?
00:21:48.110 --> 00:21:48.960
I camped there.
00:21:48.961 --> 00:21:51.859
And a person who had some
land right next to mine
00:21:51.860 --> 00:21:53.179
was Bevin Wright.
00:21:53.180 --> 00:21:56.929
He was the Chief of
Police in Blanding.
00:21:56.930 --> 00:21:59.319
And one night, Ed and I, we
were standing around the fire
00:21:59.320 --> 00:22:00.999
cooking some steaks.
00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:04.399
And up comes Bevin and
says, \"You boys wouldn\'t
00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:06.759
know anything about
that D3 Cat that
00:22:06.760 --> 00:22:10.049
went off Comb Ridge a number
of years ago, would you?\"
00:22:10.050 --> 00:22:13.559
(LAUGHING)
00:22:13.560 --> 00:22:17.669
And Ed, his face turned white.
00:22:17.670 --> 00:22:20.479
And Ed and I had
found this D3 Cat
00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:22.959
in the construction
of that stinking
00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:25.312
highway down to the Colorado.
00:22:25.313 --> 00:22:28.937
And the stupid idiots had
left the key in the ignition.
00:22:28.938 --> 00:22:32.459
So we turned the damn
thing on and sent it off
00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:34.399
the cliff about 500 feet.
00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.869
Made a nice shot when
it blew up in flames.
00:22:37.870 --> 00:22:40.639
And Bevin winked at me,
so I knew it was a joke.
00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:44.228
The reason it was a joke
was that the Mormon ranchers
00:22:44.229 --> 00:22:45.020
hated that highway.
00:22:45.021 --> 00:22:46.352
They didn\'t want the damn thing.
00:22:46.353 --> 00:22:49.019
So they were happy when the
D3 Cat went over the side.
00:22:49.020 --> 00:22:50.310
But Ed didn\'t know this.
00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:56.019
- One time, Ed showed up while
we were building our house
00:22:56.020 --> 00:22:59.519
in 1974, it had to be.
00:22:59.520 --> 00:23:01.359
The purpose of the
visit was he brought
00:23:01.360 --> 00:23:03.469
a sack full of
splitting wedges that we
00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:06.689
would put on the railroad tracks
outside of a huge strip mine
00:23:06.690 --> 00:23:10.459
to tip over the coal train.
00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:15.129
And to me, the idea was
great, except there was always
00:23:15.130 --> 00:23:18.089
somebody on the train.
00:23:18.090 --> 00:23:23.719
And the first rule is to
cause harm to no fellow human.
00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:26.089
There were a lot of things
we could have or maybe should
00:23:26.090 --> 00:23:27.319
have done.
00:23:27.320 --> 00:23:29.529
It felt like an
invasion back then.
00:23:29.530 --> 00:23:32.939
The population was exploding,
and the one thing everybody
00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.849
needed was a steady
supply of water.
00:23:35.850 --> 00:23:38.069
Dams were built all
along the Colorado River
00:23:38.070 --> 00:23:42.779
to create reservoirs and to
control its erratic flow.
00:23:42.780 --> 00:23:47.479
Hoover was the first mega dam
used to subjugate the river.
00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:52.163
But for us, the worst was
what happened in Glen Canyon.
00:23:52.164 --> 00:23:53.830
(MUSIC KATIE LEE,
\"SONG OF THE BOATMAN\")
00:24:35.340 --> 00:24:38.819
- When I first went into the
Glen, the first thing I noticed
00:24:38.820 --> 00:24:42.209
was its serenity.
00:24:42.210 --> 00:24:45.609
It was just a quiet,
peaceful place.
00:24:45.610 --> 00:24:48.829
So I didn\'t really
know at first what
00:24:48.830 --> 00:24:54.379
was happening to my whole
being, my personality.
00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:58.099
I just thought, well, this
is very beautiful and very
00:24:58.100 --> 00:25:02.289
unusual, especially when we went
into the side canyons, of which
00:25:02.290 --> 00:25:05.629
there were 125 at least.
00:25:05.630 --> 00:25:09.179
I would say one of
the most impressive
00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:10.869
was Little Arch Canyon.
00:25:10.870 --> 00:25:15.659
And Little Arch Canyon had
a willow clogged entrance.
00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:18.189
And then we wove into this...
00:25:18.190 --> 00:25:19.429
I don\'t know what to call it.
00:25:19.430 --> 00:25:22.809
It\'s not a tunnel, but the
walls were like silver.
00:25:22.810 --> 00:25:26.399
They looked like they just
had raindrops all over them.
00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:28.389
And when we came
to the end of it,
00:25:28.390 --> 00:25:32.419
and we looked up into
this stone teepee
00:25:32.420 --> 00:25:37.299
with a skylight that was no
bigger than the length of two
00:25:37.300 --> 00:25:40.209
of our arms put
together like that.
00:25:40.210 --> 00:25:45.199
And that shone down into
this teepee where we stood,
00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:50.699
and we got the feeling that
we were the first humans that
00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:52.451
had ever been in that spot.
00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:58.900
It just makes you feel like
you\'re part of the earth.
00:26:04.792 --> 00:26:08.151
(EXPLOSION)
00:26:08.152 --> 00:26:10.193
(MUSIC KATIE LEE, \"WRECK
THE NATION BUREAU SONG\")
00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:25.449
When we heard that Glen
Canyon was going to be dammed,
00:26:25.450 --> 00:26:27.229
it was just something
we didn\'t believe.
00:26:27.230 --> 00:26:30.989
We didn\'t think that
anybody in their right mind
00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:35.090
could destroy a place
like a natural Eden.
00:27:02.510 --> 00:27:06.134
- I was, of course, down
Glen Canyon when they started
00:27:06.135 --> 00:27:09.499
filling up the reservoir.
00:27:09.500 --> 00:27:12.059
I always knew, of
course, for years before,
00:27:12.060 --> 00:27:16.519
that they were going to put
water in there and fill it up.
00:27:16.520 --> 00:27:20.249
But I wasn\'t prepared for it.
00:27:20.250 --> 00:27:23.689
You know it\'s coming, but you\'re
not prepared for that defining
00:27:23.690 --> 00:27:24.690
moment.
00:27:30.560 --> 00:27:33.029
That\'s the way it
was in \'61 and \'62.
00:27:33.030 --> 00:27:38.139
And in \'63, of course,
they closed the cofferdams,
00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:40.499
and the water came up.
00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:42.744
Surprised me how
fast it came up.
00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:52.839
- I had a little
runabout that I took.
00:27:52.840 --> 00:27:55.699
I don\'t know why I wanted to
torture myself and go back
00:27:55.700 --> 00:27:57.969
in there and look at it.
00:27:57.970 --> 00:28:01.499
And I, uh, came around the
bend, and I looked down
00:28:01.500 --> 00:28:05.889
into the water, and sure
enough, there was the hole.
00:28:05.890 --> 00:28:10.479
And so I dove down
into the water.
00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:13.910
I could see into that
teepee where we had stood...
00:28:19.590 --> 00:28:21.375
two or three years before that.
00:28:26.549 --> 00:28:28.089
- You go up into
these sacred places,
00:28:28.090 --> 00:28:31.409
and the inscriptions
on the wall,
00:28:31.410 --> 00:28:37.249
one trip you took, there they
were, and the next trip they
00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:38.869
were covered.
00:28:38.870 --> 00:28:45.619
You take your hand down beneath
the surface of that water,
00:28:45.620 --> 00:28:47.699
and you can feel
the inscriptions.
00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:48.750
But it\'s not the same.
00:28:53.130 --> 00:28:56.489
That was the
toughest of my life.
00:28:56.490 --> 00:29:01.549
If you say, why am I
an environmentalist?
00:29:01.550 --> 00:29:05.659
It\'s because I saw so
much destruction right
00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:06.790
in front of my eyes.
00:29:24.520 --> 00:29:27.979
- Apparently, the movement
had forgotten the exhortation
00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:34.409
of David Brower, who said
\"Polite conservationists leave
00:29:34.410 --> 00:29:38.469
no mark, save for
the scars on the land
00:29:38.470 --> 00:29:46.470
that could\'ve been prevented
had they held their ground.\"
00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:01.539
- The dam flooded 186 miles of
magnificent Slickrock Canyon
00:30:01.540 --> 00:30:02.999
country.
00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:07.369
Phoenix and Tucson wanted the
water, and in order to get it,
00:30:07.370 --> 00:30:09.839
lots of power was
needed to pump it,
00:30:09.840 --> 00:30:13.539
and that would come from coal.
00:30:13.540 --> 00:30:16.979
Back in 1969, my
old pal Bill Brown,
00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:18.949
who was a Park
Service historian,
00:30:18.950 --> 00:30:21.379
had been picking up on
scuttlebutt within the Park
00:30:21.380 --> 00:30:26.279
Service that there was to
be a coal strip mine located
00:30:26.280 --> 00:30:30.615
on Black Mesa in
northern Arizona,
00:30:30.616 --> 00:30:32.989
which was situated right smack
in the middle of both Hopi
00:30:32.990 --> 00:30:37.029
and Navajo sacred lands.
00:30:37.030 --> 00:30:40.320
(EXPLOSION)
00:30:41.730 --> 00:30:44.279
Ed and I reacted
in different ways
00:30:44.280 --> 00:30:48.099
to the news of what was
happening up on Black Mesa.
00:30:48.100 --> 00:30:50.889
I was working on a
project basically
00:30:50.890 --> 00:30:55.209
to try to stop or forestall the
construction of more coal fired
00:30:55.210 --> 00:30:57.739
power plants in the
American Southwest.
00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:01.179
And I told people
out in Hopi country
00:31:01.180 --> 00:31:03.319
about what I\'d learned
about the coal strip mine,
00:31:03.320 --> 00:31:08.429
and they reacted very adamantly
against the idea of this.
00:31:08.430 --> 00:31:11.799
And so they asked me if I could
try to get something going.
00:31:11.800 --> 00:31:13.790
We started the Black
Mesa Defense Fund.
00:31:17.640 --> 00:31:20.973
Ed reacted in his
own Ed Abbey fashion.
00:31:23.820 --> 00:31:25.809
Abbey perceived the
interrelatedness
00:31:25.810 --> 00:31:29.479
between corporate
economics, industry,
00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:34.789
politics, the entire scenario
as truly one of the great evils
00:31:34.790 --> 00:31:35.935
manifest in this land.
00:31:38.650 --> 00:31:41.999
Ed was basically a
guerrilla warrior at heart,
00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:43.599
and he applied his
thoughts to how
00:31:43.600 --> 00:31:45.849
to thwart the mining
of coal, which
00:31:45.850 --> 00:31:49.019
fed the generating stations
supplying the power
00:31:49.020 --> 00:31:51.339
to pump the water.
00:31:51.340 --> 00:31:54.779
And the pumping of water into
the central valleys of Arizona
00:31:54.780 --> 00:31:59.099
is known as the Central
Arizona Project.
00:31:59.100 --> 00:32:02.239
- What Arizona\'s done is
create the largest public works
00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:03.929
project in the history
of the country.
00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:08.349
And in the end, what we created
with it was a short term thing.
00:32:08.350 --> 00:32:10.979
We moved a bunch of
people into a desert
00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:12.535
where we can\'t sustain them.
00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:17.509
It was like sending a case
of whiskey to an alcoholic.
00:32:17.510 --> 00:32:19.889
I mean, there was no
conservation connection.
00:32:19.890 --> 00:32:22.659
Phoenix and Tuscon kept
growing like weeds,
00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:23.975
because now they had water.
00:32:26.160 --> 00:32:30.719
- And so to me, when you look
back on it, the Central Arizona
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:35.599
Project itself, in conjunction
with the Glen Canyon Dam,
00:32:35.600 --> 00:32:39.419
was the reason the modern
environmental movement took off
00:32:39.420 --> 00:32:42.039
as it did in the
American Southwest.
00:32:42.040 --> 00:32:44.979
And it also really did
inspire \"The Monkey Wrench
00:32:44.980 --> 00:32:46.320
Gang\" right down the line.
00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:15.689
- \"The Monkey Wrench Gang\"
is an incendiary device
00:33:15.690 --> 00:33:17.479
bound as a book.
00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:20.839
Because what it says is
the salvation of the United
00:33:20.840 --> 00:33:24.445
States and the planet is blowing
up property that\'s killing it.
00:33:28.570 --> 00:33:31.089
Everybody around
Ed, including me,
00:33:31.090 --> 00:33:34.199
wanted to blow up
the goddamn dam.
00:33:34.200 --> 00:33:37.309
He invented a sort
of comic scenario,
00:33:37.310 --> 00:33:39.019
and he implanted the idea.
00:33:39.020 --> 00:33:42.019
And the real idea isn\'t
blowing up Glen Canyon Dam.
00:33:42.020 --> 00:33:46.185
It\'s one, this was a tragedy,
and two, this has to be undone.
00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:52.059
- Well, the story
is about, really,
00:33:52.060 --> 00:33:56.289
four people who got upset
with what was going on.
00:33:56.290 --> 00:33:59.069
All the roads that were
going through the country
00:33:59.070 --> 00:34:02.359
where they\'d hike that
turned up with bulldozers
00:34:02.360 --> 00:34:04.109
standing in front of them.
00:34:04.110 --> 00:34:06.049
And I can remember
some of my friends
00:34:06.050 --> 00:34:11.029
in southern Utah
just going bananas,
00:34:11.030 --> 00:34:13.164
because \"Don\'t they understand?
00:34:13.165 --> 00:34:16.718
These machines cost
millions of dollars.\"
00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:20.309
And I say, yes they do.
00:34:20.310 --> 00:34:25.738
But it doesn\'t take a million
dollars to repair a gas tank,
00:34:25.739 --> 00:34:29.069
so don\'t get so excited.
00:34:29.070 --> 00:34:34.229
- Back in 1975, Ed came
up for Thanksgiving,
00:34:34.230 --> 00:34:35.939
and he brought two gifts.
00:34:35.940 --> 00:34:38.979
One was 12 LP records
with the collective organ
00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:41.218
works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
00:34:41.219 --> 00:34:45.319
And the other gift was
this typewritten manuscript
00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:48.029
of \"The Monkey Wrench Gang.\"
00:34:48.030 --> 00:34:51.749
- I read that manuscript over,
and I thought, right on, Ed.
00:34:51.750 --> 00:34:52.630
Right on.
00:34:52.631 --> 00:34:56.445
It made an impact much greater
than I thought it would be.
00:34:56.446 --> 00:34:59.869
It listed a lot of
supporters, and it listed
00:34:59.870 --> 00:35:00.950
a lot of monkeywrenching.
00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:11.239
- So this is Abbey\'s old chair
that he had in his writing
00:35:11.240 --> 00:35:13.579
studio in Tucson.
00:35:13.580 --> 00:35:18.289
And he gave it to me after he
finally got a modern chair.
00:35:18.290 --> 00:35:20.299
And he said that he
wrote \"The Monkey Wrench
00:35:20.300 --> 00:35:23.459
Gang\" sitting in this chair
on his old typewriter.
00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:26.129
I would have loved to have
gotten the typewriter, too,
00:35:26.130 --> 00:35:29.409
but at least I have the chair.
00:35:29.410 --> 00:35:30.410
- I love the book.
00:35:30.411 --> 00:35:34.669
I mean, I love the way
Ed put the book together.
00:35:34.670 --> 00:35:38.559
And he realized that if
you\'re going to really inspire
00:35:38.560 --> 00:35:42.329
a bunch of people to get
cracking on this subject,
00:35:42.330 --> 00:35:44.609
you had to make
it look like fun.
00:35:44.610 --> 00:35:49.226
So he did. (LAUGHING)
00:36:15.700 --> 00:36:17.449
I think that book
was a brilliant way
00:36:17.450 --> 00:36:20.499
of striking back at the raping
and pillaging taking place
00:36:20.500 --> 00:36:21.859
out here.
00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:23.679
Some of his friends
felt much like Ed
00:36:23.680 --> 00:36:26.419
did, and in some way
or another inspired
00:36:26.420 --> 00:36:31.189
its four main characters:
Hayduke, Seldom Seen, Doc,
00:36:31.190 --> 00:36:33.129
and Bonnie.
00:36:33.130 --> 00:36:35.469
- Abbey picked his
friends because they
00:36:35.470 --> 00:36:36.879
thought a lot like him.
00:36:36.880 --> 00:36:39.649
There\'s no mystery about that.
00:36:39.650 --> 00:36:41.559
I can see my own
characterization in it.
00:36:41.560 --> 00:36:46.414
But yet, I see Abbey\'s thoughts
as well as my own, maybe,
00:36:46.415 --> 00:36:50.339
because we thought a
lot alike, Abbey and I.
00:36:50.340 --> 00:36:54.879
But he put into words
what a lot of us
00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:57.639
were talking about
around the campfire.
00:36:57.640 --> 00:37:04.899
And Seldom Seen Smith is Abbey,
with a token of maybe Sleight.
00:37:04.900 --> 00:37:08.469
- Seldom Seen Smith was a
river runner, just like Ken.
00:37:08.470 --> 00:37:11.869
But where did that
name come from?
00:37:11.870 --> 00:37:13.829
- Abbey and I, we had
a good a relationship.
00:37:13.830 --> 00:37:16.899
But sometimes he wouldn\'t
see me for months.
00:37:16.900 --> 00:37:20.129
That\'s where it
took from, I\'m sure.
00:37:20.130 --> 00:37:21.299
- Is that right, Ed?
00:37:21.300 --> 00:37:22.711
I think that\'s right.
00:37:22.712 --> 00:37:23.496
Yep.
00:37:23.497 --> 00:37:24.954
(LAUGHING)
00:37:35.890 --> 00:37:40.019
- The first time I met
Ken Sleight, Ed and I
00:37:40.020 --> 00:37:43.989
were going to spend a week
going down the Colorado.
00:37:43.990 --> 00:37:47.949
After a day or two,
we were nearing
00:37:47.950 --> 00:37:51.809
Big Drop, which is named that
way because that\'s how it is.
00:37:51.810 --> 00:37:55.759
And in the middle of Big
Drop is a huge boulder.
00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:59.389
And Ken decided it would be
best to use a little three
00:37:59.390 --> 00:38:03.299
horsepower motor that was
on the back of the raft.
00:38:03.300 --> 00:38:06.279
So he pulls on the
rope, and in the silence
00:38:06.280 --> 00:38:10.049
the motor goes sputter sputter.
00:38:10.050 --> 00:38:14.439
So Ken throws an oar to Ed.
00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:20.189
As soon as Ed put his oar in the
water, there was a loud crack.
00:38:20.190 --> 00:38:22.219
And he held it up in
the air, now nothing
00:38:22.220 --> 00:38:26.009
more than a broken
broomstick, and he said, \"Ken,
00:38:26.010 --> 00:38:29.929
I think something\'s
wrong with my oar.\"
00:38:29.930 --> 00:38:35.729
And I no longer recall how Ken
got us around that big boulder
00:38:35.730 --> 00:38:40.999
with one oar, but he managed.
00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:44.309
The time that Ed and I
cast our lot together
00:38:44.310 --> 00:38:47.189
is when he was writing
\"The Monkey Wrench Gang.\"
00:38:47.190 --> 00:38:51.909
And to the extent that Ed
modeled Bonnie after me...
00:38:51.910 --> 00:38:55.529
she\'s from the Bronx...
She\'s a dancer, which I was.
00:38:55.530 --> 00:38:59.220
And frequently, he would write
down, verbatim, conversations
00:38:59.221 --> 00:38:59.720
we had.
00:38:59.721 --> 00:39:04.699
And when I read the manuscript,
and then the galleys there...
00:39:04.700 --> 00:39:06.447
there it was.
00:39:09.250 --> 00:39:13.039
- Ingrid and Ed parted company
before the book was finished,
00:39:13.040 --> 00:39:16.349
but they remained
friends to the end.
00:39:16.350 --> 00:39:19.159
Bonnie, she\'s still passing
the wrench to others,
00:39:19.160 --> 00:39:22.549
even though Ed took out a huge
moment of her\'s from an earlier
00:39:22.550 --> 00:39:24.559
version of the book.
00:39:24.560 --> 00:39:30.629
- In that chapter, the Glen
Canyon Dam blew sky high.
00:39:30.630 --> 00:39:35.929
And this honor went to a
certain dancer from the Bronx.
00:39:35.930 --> 00:39:40.519
Who got to push down on the
plunger that blew up the dam
00:39:40.520 --> 00:39:43.437
and sent it sky high.
00:39:43.438 --> 00:39:45.374
(EXPLOSION)
00:39:49.250 --> 00:39:50.739
- This was in the early \'70s.
00:39:50.740 --> 00:39:53.289
Ed and I were camped alone
in the Cabessa Prieta
00:39:53.290 --> 00:39:54.319
at Eagle Tank.
00:39:54.320 --> 00:39:57.899
And then he told me about this
book he was going to write.
00:39:57.900 --> 00:40:00.299
And I told him, well, I can
help him here and there.
00:40:00.300 --> 00:40:02.269
And I was the one
that gave him all
00:40:02.270 --> 00:40:06.379
the counterinsurgent literature
that I\'d gleaned from my Green
00:40:06.380 --> 00:40:07.730
Beret demolition days.
00:40:13.730 --> 00:40:19.069
I came back from Vietnam
with an absolute certainty
00:40:19.070 --> 00:40:21.255
that the world was
not a good place.
00:40:24.180 --> 00:40:30.039
I\'d seen this destruction of
human life and jungle life.
00:40:30.040 --> 00:40:34.089
Just wholesale destruction in
Vietnam by the machines of war.
00:40:34.090 --> 00:40:36.109
And I came back and I see...
00:40:36.110 --> 00:40:38.369
I see the same things going
on in the American West.
00:40:38.370 --> 00:40:40.514
They\'re still going on today.
00:40:40.515 --> 00:40:44.299
And so that\'s what I
decided I would take on.
00:40:44.300 --> 00:40:45.899
That was going to
be my life is taking
00:40:45.900 --> 00:40:48.319
on the forces of
that destruction.
00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:50.889
And I happen to run this
guy Abbey about that time,
00:40:50.890 --> 00:40:55.089
and he picked Doug Peacock as a
wounded warrior who still loved
00:40:55.090 --> 00:40:57.619
the Earth, but somehow
had retained the elements
00:40:57.620 --> 00:40:59.069
of his own humanity.
00:40:59.070 --> 00:41:02.229
That was Ed\'s own input
into this character.
00:41:02.230 --> 00:41:05.039
And I think it\'s brilliant,
and I love him for it.
00:41:05.040 --> 00:41:06.040
Still do.
00:41:10.374 --> 00:41:12.039
- I once asked Doug
Peacock... you know,
00:41:12.040 --> 00:41:13.449
I\'d known Doug for years.
00:41:13.450 --> 00:41:17.014
And I said, well, how do
you decide what you do?
00:41:17.015 --> 00:41:20.459
And he says, \"When
I\'m out there and I
00:41:20.460 --> 00:41:23.139
see something that doesn\'t
belong there, I fuck with it.\"
00:41:23.140 --> 00:41:24.417
(LAUGHING)
00:41:24.418 --> 00:41:27.270
I said, OK, now I
know the ground rules.
00:41:29.860 --> 00:41:33.809
- I have a feeling that most
of the actual monkeywrenching
00:41:33.810 --> 00:41:37.129
events were based on
things Ed did himself
00:41:37.130 --> 00:41:41.279
at one time or another
with some friends.
00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:43.579
- Well, there was some
field research involved
00:41:43.580 --> 00:41:44.815
in the creation of that book.
00:41:44.816 --> 00:41:45.316
Yes.
00:41:45.317 --> 00:41:47.625
- Can you be more specific?
00:41:47.626 --> 00:41:50.544
- Do you think the statute
of limitations has run out?
00:41:50.545 --> 00:41:53.494
Yeah, I did some
night work, yes.
00:41:53.495 --> 00:41:58.739
I\'ll admit that I did
it 10, 15 years ago.
00:41:58.740 --> 00:42:01.559
- Ed did some night work
with a few of his companeros.
00:42:01.560 --> 00:42:03.829
But in the book, Doc
Sarvis\' night work
00:42:03.830 --> 00:42:07.489
was the beginning of everything.
00:42:07.490 --> 00:42:13.289
I think that Ed was a big part
of Doc, but there were others.
00:42:13.290 --> 00:42:16.739
- How many billboards do you
think Doc Sarvis really...?
00:42:16.740 --> 00:42:17.660
- Did in?
00:42:17.660 --> 00:42:18.160
- Yeah.
00:42:18.161 --> 00:42:20.369
- Couple of hundred.
00:42:20.370 --> 00:42:23.953
As well as other things,
which we won\'t discuss.
00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:30.379
In \"The Monkey Wrench Gang,\"
at least three of the events
00:42:30.380 --> 00:42:33.569
actually took place.
00:42:33.570 --> 00:42:39.504
In retrospect, I wonder if
we achieved much at all.
00:42:39.505 --> 00:42:41.614
I think the only thing
we really achieved
00:42:41.615 --> 00:42:44.359
was a raising of consciousness.
00:42:44.360 --> 00:42:45.360
That was the main thing.
00:42:45.361 --> 00:42:47.459
Because you couldn\'t
stop that monolith.
00:42:47.460 --> 00:42:49.290
It was just hopeless.
00:42:54.050 --> 00:42:57.389
- He likened the entire
scene to a kraken... a great,
00:42:57.390 --> 00:43:03.029
many tentacled creature that
could reach out and destroy.
00:43:03.030 --> 00:43:07.559
And so in his own way,
and in his own mind,
00:43:07.560 --> 00:43:10.309
he wanted to present
this in such a light
00:43:10.310 --> 00:43:12.809
that people could enjoy
themselves reading
00:43:12.810 --> 00:43:15.659
the book while being
confronted by some
00:43:15.660 --> 00:43:18.349
of the most important
concepts that
00:43:18.350 --> 00:43:20.890
could be imagined in our time.
00:43:23.010 --> 00:43:27.539
- I think \"The Monkey
Wrench Gang\" signified
00:43:27.540 --> 00:43:31.499
all those dangers coming,
and this band of characters
00:43:31.500 --> 00:43:32.959
was going to do
whatever they could
00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:35.119
to stop it from happening.
00:43:35.120 --> 00:43:37.429
And I think that\'s one of
the reasons why probably
00:43:37.430 --> 00:43:39.934
\"The Monkey Wrench Gang\"
has developed such a cult
00:43:39.935 --> 00:43:41.199
following.
00:43:41.200 --> 00:43:43.249
A lot of people
thought, yeah, the way
00:43:43.250 --> 00:43:45.249
these other people have
behaved, that\'s probably
00:43:45.250 --> 00:43:46.390
what you should have done.
00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:51.544
I had been concerned about what
was being lost in the West,
00:43:51.545 --> 00:43:52.645
because I could see it.
00:43:52.646 --> 00:43:54.379
And Ed... you know,
Ed lived there.
00:43:54.380 --> 00:43:57.069
I mean, the fact is
that he lived there.
00:43:57.070 --> 00:44:02.899
He patiently worked there in
fire watches in Tonto National
00:44:02.900 --> 00:44:04.249
Park, in Glacier National Park.
00:44:04.250 --> 00:44:09.610
I mean, he became part of
that fabric of the West.
00:44:09.611 --> 00:44:11.609
And so when I did \"The
Outlaw Trail,\" I thought,
00:44:11.610 --> 00:44:12.961
I\'m gonna call this guy.
00:44:12.962 --> 00:44:14.419
And I said, do you
want to do this?
00:44:14.420 --> 00:44:17.439
All you have to do is ride a
horse and meet in Lost Cabin.
00:44:17.440 --> 00:44:19.419
He said, \"Yeah, I\'ll do it.\"
00:44:19.420 --> 00:44:24.919
That was about the end of it
until we met on the trail.
00:44:24.920 --> 00:44:27.809
I first became aware of
the Outlaw Trail because
00:44:27.810 --> 00:44:29.429
of the film \"Butch Cassidy.\"
00:44:29.430 --> 00:44:32.519
It\'s got a great history that a
lot of people don\'t know about.
00:44:32.520 --> 00:44:34.911
I thought about, what if
we rode the Outlaw Trail
00:44:34.912 --> 00:44:36.369
just like the
outlaws did when they
00:44:36.370 --> 00:44:38.525
were escaping from a robbery?
00:44:38.526 --> 00:44:42.119
And so I had initially gone
to the National Geographic
00:44:42.120 --> 00:44:44.809
with just the suggestion
that they do this piece.
00:44:44.810 --> 00:44:47.865
That they cover the Outlaw
Trail before it was gone.
00:44:49.350 --> 00:44:53.749
I was by this time going against
coal and uranium, gas and oil,
00:44:53.750 --> 00:44:57.154
in effect to preserve
what was natural...
00:44:57.155 --> 00:44:58.530
Which is what
aligned me with Ed.
00:45:06.140 --> 00:45:08.020
You really had to fight
hard in this state.
00:45:08.021 --> 00:45:10.519
And they took a very dim view
in fact, a negative view...
00:45:10.520 --> 00:45:12.229
Of anyone that would speak out.
00:45:12.230 --> 00:45:15.459
But what I thought was Utah\'s
greatest asset was its land.
00:45:15.460 --> 00:45:17.449
- Movie actor Robert
Redford, among others,
00:45:17.450 --> 00:45:19.159
was burned in
effigy this weekend
00:45:19.160 --> 00:45:21.599
near the sight of the
proposed Utah power plant
00:45:21.600 --> 00:45:23.099
that he had campaigned against.
00:45:23.100 --> 00:45:25.449
- Once the threats went to
my kids, I thought, you know,
00:45:25.450 --> 00:45:27.469
that I had to take a
different approach.
00:45:27.470 --> 00:45:30.049
So that\'s when I went to doing
more behind the scenes stuff.
00:45:30.050 --> 00:45:33.259
But I\'m personally in
favor of grassroots
00:45:33.260 --> 00:45:35.389
right now, in particular
because I don\'t think
00:45:35.390 --> 00:45:37.399
the government\'s serving us.
00:45:37.400 --> 00:45:39.290
Congress is certainly
not serving us.
00:45:39.291 --> 00:45:40.789
Therefore, there
are a lot of people
00:45:40.790 --> 00:45:42.622
who feel they have no
leadership at the top,
00:45:42.623 --> 00:45:43.540
particularly morally.
00:45:43.541 --> 00:45:45.979
And so they have
only one recourse,
00:45:45.980 --> 00:45:48.359
and that\'s to build
from the bottom up.
00:45:48.360 --> 00:45:51.339
And I think the driving
force will be young people.
00:45:51.340 --> 00:45:53.379
- He\'s accused of
disrupting an oil and gas
00:45:53.380 --> 00:45:56.409
auction as a peaceful protest
against global warming.
00:45:56.410 --> 00:45:58.989
Tim DeChristopher is becoming
known to environmentalists
00:45:58.990 --> 00:46:02.029
across the country as a
symbol of civil disobedience.
00:46:02.030 --> 00:46:05.949
- He\'s a guy that
did what he could do.
00:46:05.950 --> 00:46:08.009
It was just a fabulous move.
00:46:08.010 --> 00:46:09.469
It was legitimate, what he did.
00:46:09.470 --> 00:46:11.613
Now they\'re going to
try to claim it isn\'t.
00:46:11.614 --> 00:46:13.779
They\'re going to try to
claim he\'s an eco-terrorist.
00:46:13.780 --> 00:46:17.859
All that nonsense and bullshit.
00:46:17.860 --> 00:46:22.309
No, he just honored
what he could do.
00:46:22.310 --> 00:46:25.829
And he did it, and they
couldn\'t handle it.
00:46:25.830 --> 00:46:27.539
- Well, it was meant
to be a parting
00:46:27.540 --> 00:46:31.434
gift from President George
W. Bush to the oil and gas
00:46:31.435 --> 00:46:32.509
industry.
00:46:32.510 --> 00:46:34.569
In the final weeks
of his presidency,
00:46:34.570 --> 00:46:37.399
the Bureau of Land
Management held an auction
00:46:37.400 --> 00:46:39.859
to sell the rights to
drill for oil and gas
00:46:39.860 --> 00:46:42.099
on federally protected land.
00:46:42.100 --> 00:46:45.039
- It was such a sneaky move.
00:46:45.040 --> 00:46:47.919
I became aware of it
through some folks
00:46:47.920 --> 00:46:51.919
that I knew, called NRDC
immediately and said,
00:46:51.920 --> 00:46:53.059
we gotta get on this.
00:46:53.060 --> 00:46:55.679
You\'ve got to get out
and loud about it quick.
00:46:55.680 --> 00:46:58.079
- The National Park
Service was against it,
00:46:58.080 --> 00:46:59.901
because they hadn\'t
even been consulted
00:46:59.902 --> 00:47:01.359
about the parcels
of land that were
00:47:01.360 --> 00:47:03.329
right on the
boundaries of Arches
00:47:03.330 --> 00:47:06.749
and Canyonlands National Parks,
and Dinosaur National Monument.
00:47:06.750 --> 00:47:09.149
- This, to me, is the most
cynical, very dangerous,
00:47:09.150 --> 00:47:12.719
and as you said, Rachel,
that once it\'s done
00:47:12.720 --> 00:47:13.640
it\'s intractable.
00:47:13.641 --> 00:47:15.489
And so I\'m mad.
00:47:15.490 --> 00:47:16.779
The American people are mad.
00:47:16.780 --> 00:47:18.099
And we can stop this.
00:47:18.100 --> 00:47:20.569
- It was building up as
this very urgent issue,
00:47:20.570 --> 00:47:22.329
and it seemed like
nothing people
00:47:22.330 --> 00:47:25.543
were doing to try to stop
it was being effective.
00:47:25.544 --> 00:47:26.959
So when I got down
to the protest,
00:47:26.960 --> 00:47:29.733
I saw people walking back and
forth with their signs outside,
00:47:29.734 --> 00:47:31.774
and there was kind of this
feeling of resignation
00:47:31.775 --> 00:47:33.289
and hopelessness.
00:47:33.290 --> 00:47:37.029
So I knew I wanted to do
more and push things harder.
00:47:37.030 --> 00:47:38.919
And so I went inside.
00:47:38.920 --> 00:47:41.669
And when I jumped in, I
knew that if I actually
00:47:41.670 --> 00:47:45.519
won any parcels, then I\'d
almost definitely go to prison.
00:47:45.520 --> 00:47:48.218
So I started out cautiously
just driving up the prices,
00:47:48.219 --> 00:47:49.759
but as I was doing
that, I was seeing
00:47:49.760 --> 00:47:52.176
that these parcels were still
going to the oil companies.
00:47:52.177 --> 00:47:54.259
And so at some point, I
just jumped all the way in
00:47:54.260 --> 00:47:56.059
and decided to start
winning parcels.
00:47:56.060 --> 00:47:57.559
And it was pretty
clear to everybody
00:47:57.560 --> 00:47:59.789
in the room what was going on.
00:47:59.790 --> 00:48:03.409
After the 13th parcel that I
won, they stopped the auction,
00:48:03.410 --> 00:48:06.339
and an agent came over to
me right away and said,
00:48:06.340 --> 00:48:08.729
\"We need to talk outside.\"
00:48:08.730 --> 00:48:14.309
And so I ended up winning
about 22,500 acres,
00:48:14.310 --> 00:48:17.659
for a total of
about $1.8 million.
00:48:17.660 --> 00:48:19.479
- Put on hold.
00:48:19.480 --> 00:48:21.383
The Obama
administration reverses
00:48:21.384 --> 00:48:22.799
the Bush
administration\'s decision
00:48:22.800 --> 00:48:25.959
to offer controversial leases
for oil and gas development
00:48:25.960 --> 00:48:26.820
in Utah.
00:48:26.821 --> 00:48:29.429
- And I\'ve gotten a
huge amount of support.
00:48:29.430 --> 00:48:32.659
Ken Sanders contacted me pretty
shortly after the auction.
00:48:32.660 --> 00:48:36.339
He had seen all the media
and stuff about what I did.
00:48:36.340 --> 00:48:38.869
So I came down there and ended
up sitting down with Ken,
00:48:38.870 --> 00:48:41.359
and he was telling me all
these old Edward Abbey stories,
00:48:41.360 --> 00:48:43.019
and some of the older
First! stories...
00:48:43.020 --> 00:48:45.339
Like the story of when they
dropped the crack down Glen
00:48:45.340 --> 00:48:46.340
Canyon Dam.
00:48:47.480 --> 00:48:49.639
- Even though the
auction was overturned
00:48:49.640 --> 00:48:52.039
and Tim\'s bids
negated, the government
00:48:52.040 --> 00:48:54.649
still decided to
prosecute Tim for what
00:48:54.650 --> 00:48:58.019
had become known as a
social justice crime.
00:48:58.020 --> 00:49:00.569
Essentially, Tim broke
a legislative law
00:49:00.570 --> 00:49:02.109
to fight for the common good.
00:49:02.110 --> 00:49:03.379
(CHEERING)
00:49:03.380 --> 00:49:06.299
I think they feared
what Tim was inspiring.
00:49:06.300 --> 00:49:08.904
- And I\'m not here to tell
you that this battle is
00:49:08.905 --> 00:49:10.214
going to be easy.
00:49:10.215 --> 00:49:14.599
I\'m here to tell you that
this battle is our\'s.
00:49:14.600 --> 00:49:17.229
- Tim DeChristopher is
just a breath of fresh air.
00:49:17.230 --> 00:49:21.319
And that\'s exactly,
in 1981, what I felt.
00:49:21.320 --> 00:49:23.939
I was sort of jaded
from the \'70s and \'60s
00:49:23.940 --> 00:49:26.069
environmental wars
and that whole thing.
00:49:26.070 --> 00:49:28.249
And I\'d kind of
retreated, frankly.
00:49:28.250 --> 00:49:31.649
And Earth First! came
along and was like,
00:49:31.650 --> 00:49:34.470
yeah, OK, this is
something I can get into.
00:49:41.110 --> 00:49:45.149
- I first met Ed Abbey at the
cracking of Glen Canyon Dam.
00:49:45.150 --> 00:49:51.139
And Ed Abbey, in many ways, was
an inspiration for doing that.
00:49:51.140 --> 00:49:54.659
Because during the
\'70s, he talked
00:49:54.660 --> 00:49:55.959
about that sort of thing.
00:49:55.960 --> 00:50:00.979
And while people in conservation
groups were inspired by what Ed
00:50:00.980 --> 00:50:07.389
said... well, Ed was over here,
and on some level wasn\'t to be
00:50:07.390 --> 00:50:09.339
taken that seriously.
00:50:09.340 --> 00:50:13.739
Well, Earth First! decided
to take Ed\'s message
00:50:13.740 --> 00:50:15.209
and make it serious.
00:50:15.210 --> 00:50:19.670
To really inject it into
the politics of the nation.
00:50:21.360 --> 00:50:23.749
- Gleefully, they tell
me these plans. \"Well,
00:50:23.750 --> 00:50:26.778
this is actually... it\'s
a 300 foot plastic crack,
00:50:26.779 --> 00:50:29.069
and we\'re going to drop it
off Glen Canyon Dam tomorrow
00:50:29.070 --> 00:50:30.339
morning.\"
00:50:30.340 --> 00:50:31.599
Hmm, sounds good.
00:50:31.600 --> 00:50:32.758
Count me in.
00:50:35.150 --> 00:50:40.079
- Surely, no man-made structure
in modern American history has
00:50:40.080 --> 00:50:44.799
been hated so much by so many
for so long with such good
00:50:44.800 --> 00:50:46.994
reason as Glen Canyon Dam.
00:50:46.995 --> 00:50:48.795
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:50:55.790 --> 00:50:58.269
- That was a fun thing to do.
00:50:58.270 --> 00:51:03.579
Even the Sheriff\'s Deputy who
came to deal with the problem
00:51:03.580 --> 00:51:05.869
was amused by it.
00:51:05.870 --> 00:51:07.919
He was very happy
to get to meet Ed
00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:11.309
Abbey and that sort of thing.
00:51:11.310 --> 00:51:12.719
- I was like a lot of people.
00:51:12.720 --> 00:51:15.919
If I had to go to one
more Sierra Club meeting,
00:51:15.920 --> 00:51:17.789
there was only
two possibilities.
00:51:17.790 --> 00:51:21.019
I was either going to kill
them, or commit suicide.
00:51:21.020 --> 00:51:24.539
I was tired of loving the
natural world becoming
00:51:24.540 --> 00:51:26.859
a sort of dull religion.
00:51:26.860 --> 00:51:29.539
- It has been decided by the
Reagan administration\'s EPA
00:51:29.540 --> 00:51:35.144
that it is acceptable for
128 of you to die today.
00:51:35.145 --> 00:51:38.329
(BOOING)
00:51:38.330 --> 00:51:42.639
So they brought fun back into
what we call environmentalism.
00:51:42.640 --> 00:51:46.829
They also moved it
past conservation,
00:51:46.830 --> 00:51:48.804
which is a kind of
hobby horse of the rich.
00:51:48.805 --> 00:51:51.690
We\'ll rape the country and
create a deer park somewhere.
00:51:55.700 --> 00:51:56.909
Because Earth First!
00:51:56.910 --> 00:52:00.082
And Edward Abbey had
an outlook on the world
00:52:00.083 --> 00:52:00.916
that was ecological.
00:52:00.917 --> 00:52:02.859
It was a natural system.
00:52:02.860 --> 00:52:05.819
It\'s not, we save a viewpoint.
00:52:05.820 --> 00:52:09.309
- Wilderness is the essence
of everything we\'re after.
00:52:09.310 --> 00:52:11.659
Natural diversity.
00:52:11.660 --> 00:52:14.251
We aren\'t an
environmental group.
00:52:14.252 --> 00:52:15.709
- What they wanted
to accomplish...
00:52:15.710 --> 00:52:17.959
And it was very damn simple
they wanted to take
00:52:17.960 --> 00:52:21.109
the environmental movement,
all these conservation groups,
00:52:21.110 --> 00:52:22.609
and let\'s say their
position\'s here.
00:52:22.610 --> 00:52:25.499
They wanted to move
them way over there.
00:52:25.500 --> 00:52:28.079
They were going to be so damn
crazy that everybody would
00:52:28.080 --> 00:52:29.999
get more radical and
still look like they\'re
00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:32.209
moderates compared to them.
00:52:32.210 --> 00:52:33.979
- Earth First! says
it will continue
00:52:33.980 --> 00:52:36.013
this summer\'s campaign
of conservation
00:52:36.014 --> 00:52:36.930
through confrontation.
00:52:36.931 --> 00:52:41.409
- People in Earth First! think
that the big US conservation
00:52:41.410 --> 00:52:45.279
organizations
compromise too much.
00:52:45.280 --> 00:52:47.219
That it\'s time for
an end to compromise,
00:52:47.220 --> 00:52:50.669
and time for extreme
and radical statements.
00:52:50.670 --> 00:52:52.889
At least from somebody.
00:52:52.890 --> 00:52:54.764
And I\'ve always been
happy to be an extremist
00:52:54.765 --> 00:52:57.269
and a radical myself.
00:52:57.270 --> 00:52:59.904
And I find it quite
pleasing that there
00:52:59.905 --> 00:53:03.439
are thousands of other
people who feel as I do.
00:53:03.440 --> 00:53:06.819
- I first met Ed Abbey at the
1987 Earth First! rendezvous
00:53:06.820 --> 00:53:08.689
on the North Rim of
the Grand Canyon.
00:53:08.690 --> 00:53:12.889
And I think he laid out a
pretty good moral justification
00:53:12.890 --> 00:53:16.479
for taking radical action, and
it resonated with something
00:53:16.480 --> 00:53:18.339
that we were feeling.
00:53:18.340 --> 00:53:20.859
That we were living in
this beautiful place
00:53:20.860 --> 00:53:22.869
that had a power and
a will of its own,
00:53:22.870 --> 00:53:24.659
and that it was, first
of all, completely
00:53:24.660 --> 00:53:30.119
foolhardy to try to impose our
short term goals on the wild.
00:53:30.120 --> 00:53:33.129
And second of all, that we
really had a moral obligation
00:53:33.130 --> 00:53:37.019
to take some kind of action
against this foolishness.
00:53:37.020 --> 00:53:39.259
- Tonight\'s special segment
is about monkeywrenching.
00:53:39.260 --> 00:53:41.939
It\'s part guerrilla
theater, part sabotage.
00:53:41.940 --> 00:53:43.539
(HOWLING)
00:53:43.540 --> 00:53:47.839
- And you need a whole
range of approaches.
00:53:47.840 --> 00:53:50.759
It\'s just like the
old growth issue.
00:53:50.760 --> 00:53:55.139
We were in southwestern
Oregon, and discovered
00:53:55.140 --> 00:54:00.059
that the Sierra Club and other
conservation groups there
00:54:00.060 --> 00:54:03.629
had essentially decided they had
lost on the old growth forest
00:54:03.630 --> 00:54:05.764
issue, and weren\'t going
to fight it anymore.
00:54:05.765 --> 00:54:07.469
(HOWLING)
00:54:07.470 --> 00:54:10.919
Well, we decided we weren\'t
going to let that happen.
00:54:10.920 --> 00:54:15.269
And that was the beginning
of real civil disobedience
00:54:15.270 --> 00:54:17.289
for Earth First!
00:54:17.290 --> 00:54:19.299
- Vowing to live
up to its motto,
00:54:19.300 --> 00:54:22.526
\"No compromise in the
defense of Mother Earth.\"
00:54:22.527 --> 00:54:24.109
- They\'re just the
logical consequence
00:54:24.110 --> 00:54:26.310
of the world Ed was
writing and describing.
00:54:28.844 --> 00:54:30.119
Earth First!
00:54:30.120 --> 00:54:33.879
Is his natural bastard child.
00:54:33.880 --> 00:54:36.809
- While Earth First! talks
tough, most of its activities
00:54:36.810 --> 00:54:38.109
are fairly tame.
00:54:38.110 --> 00:54:40.429
- Most of the stuff that I
was doing with Earth First!
00:54:40.430 --> 00:54:44.849
As a group... we mostly did
street theater and stuff around
00:54:44.850 --> 00:54:47.629
public lands and
public land policy.
00:54:47.630 --> 00:54:49.704
We did a lot of stuff
around Yellowstone
00:54:49.705 --> 00:54:52.734
and the grizzly
habitat at that time.
00:54:52.735 --> 00:54:54.839
Doug Peacock was involved.
00:54:54.840 --> 00:54:59.959
And the uranium mining in
and around the Grand Canyon.
00:54:59.960 --> 00:55:02.809
I never got arrested
until the 1987 rendezvous
00:55:02.810 --> 00:55:06.216
on the North Rim, when we
shut down the Pigeon Mine.
00:55:11.580 --> 00:55:13.349
This is the first time
that a bunch of us
00:55:13.350 --> 00:55:15.629
got arrested that I know
of that ended up staying
00:55:15.630 --> 00:55:17.189
more than five hours in jail.
00:55:17.190 --> 00:55:19.169
We ended up in there
for three days.
00:55:19.170 --> 00:55:22.539
And that was a big
change in the way
00:55:22.540 --> 00:55:25.389
things were being handled
around us and our protests
00:55:25.390 --> 00:55:26.409
and such the like.
00:55:26.410 --> 00:55:29.214
And so it was kind
of a big deal.
00:55:29.215 --> 00:55:32.009
- Foreman and the other founders
of Earth First! advocated
00:55:32.010 --> 00:55:34.179
breaking the law in
defense of nature.
00:55:34.180 --> 00:55:37.068
Their tactics angered developers
and environmentalists alike,
00:55:37.069 --> 00:55:38.860
and caught the attention
of the government.
00:55:40.320 --> 00:55:43.089
- There were way too many
events during those years.
00:55:43.090 --> 00:55:45.112
And as they grew and
did these road shows,
00:55:45.113 --> 00:55:47.079
they got larger and larger.
00:55:47.080 --> 00:55:51.774
But by the mid-1980s, there
were so many dirty tricks
00:55:51.775 --> 00:55:53.649
being played by the Feds.
00:55:53.650 --> 00:55:56.430
And it was really,
really getting ugly.
00:55:58.040 --> 00:56:02.129
They were following us around,
videotaping us constantly.
00:56:02.130 --> 00:56:05.939
It just got really,
really creepy.
00:56:05.940 --> 00:56:09.469
There was just this really
dark, dark side to it.
00:56:09.470 --> 00:56:12.059
- Tonight, the FBI alleges
four Earth First! members
00:56:12.060 --> 00:56:13.849
were involved in a
conspiracy to take
00:56:13.850 --> 00:56:18.079
ecotage a giant step further,
and sabotage the Diablo Canyon
00:56:18.080 --> 00:56:19.969
Nuclear Power Plant
in California.
00:56:19.970 --> 00:56:22.860
The Palo Verde Nuclear
Power Plant was...
00:56:23.840 --> 00:56:25.899
- At the time,
the FBI was really
00:56:25.900 --> 00:56:28.949
working us because we had
a couple of informants,
00:56:28.950 --> 00:56:31.959
we had an FBI agent, we
had all kinds of people
00:56:31.960 --> 00:56:35.529
around us trying to form
us into something else.
00:56:35.530 --> 00:56:39.319
And a lot of
conversations about things
00:56:39.320 --> 00:56:41.714
like power plants
and this and that.
00:56:41.715 --> 00:56:45.349
But we were not
involved in any of that.
00:56:45.350 --> 00:56:48.289
- And the undercover
FBI agent had just
00:56:48.290 --> 00:56:51.079
been working on the
people in Prescott
00:56:51.080 --> 00:56:53.699
to try to get them
to do something.
00:56:53.700 --> 00:56:58.169
And it took them a lot of work
to get them to do anything.
00:56:58.170 --> 00:57:01.219
- Using two operatives, the
FBI targeted four people
00:57:01.220 --> 00:57:02.799
in the sting operation.
00:57:02.800 --> 00:57:07.989
Ilse Asplund, Mark Davis,
Marc Baker, and Peg Millett.
00:57:07.990 --> 00:57:11.189
- Mark was right that Mike
Fain was a deep plant.
00:57:11.190 --> 00:57:14.239
And I think it\'s
probably a plus to be
00:57:14.240 --> 00:57:17.499
an uncharismatic person when
you\'re an undercover agent.
00:57:17.500 --> 00:57:22.239
And so Mike Fain would sort
of lurk around in his hat,
00:57:22.240 --> 00:57:26.049
and kind of look at his
toes and kick the dirt.
00:57:26.050 --> 00:57:28.769
You know, he was out there
in the woods spiking trees,
00:57:28.770 --> 00:57:31.489
and he had this whole
made up pedigree.
00:57:31.490 --> 00:57:35.929
And so he was sort of
milling around, trying
00:57:35.930 --> 00:57:38.689
to not so much get
information, but to sort
00:57:38.690 --> 00:57:40.475
of up the ante on everything.
00:57:41.910 --> 00:57:43.479
The mole...
00:57:43.480 --> 00:57:45.439
I guess the snitch...
00:57:45.440 --> 00:57:47.559
was Ron Frazier.
00:57:47.560 --> 00:57:50.029
And he was a very
talented welder.
00:57:50.030 --> 00:57:52.179
He did a lot of welded artwork.
00:57:52.180 --> 00:57:54.359
He, in fact, loved
heavy machinery,
00:57:54.360 --> 00:57:56.209
and liked repairing
it and working on it.
00:57:56.210 --> 00:57:58.060
So that\'s how we
came to know him.
00:58:00.440 --> 00:58:04.265
- Unbeknownst to Ilsa at the
time, Ron had plans for her
00:58:04.266 --> 00:58:06.549
as well.
00:58:06.550 --> 00:58:14.179
- In his mind, he thought
that he would recruit me.
00:58:14.180 --> 00:58:18.089
And then I, while
living with Mark Davis,
00:58:18.090 --> 00:58:21.664
would also begin working
for the FBI in tandem
00:58:21.665 --> 00:58:23.120
with him, Ron Frazier.
00:58:26.760 --> 00:58:30.669
So I don\'t know if
you\'re hearing music
00:58:30.670 --> 00:58:34.089
from \"The Twilight
Zone\" at this point,
00:58:34.090 --> 00:58:36.500
but that was the scenario
that he was running.
00:58:38.790 --> 00:58:42.069
- Frazier moved slowly
and gained Ilse\'s trust,
00:58:42.070 --> 00:58:43.060
but Fain...
00:58:43.061 --> 00:58:46.109
well, he kept
pushing for action.
00:58:46.110 --> 00:58:49.709
A plan slowly developed to take
down a high voltage power line
00:58:49.710 --> 00:58:52.864
tower feeding a pumping
station for the Central Arizona
00:58:52.865 --> 00:58:55.159
Project.
00:58:55.160 --> 00:59:01.169
And so Mark wanted to cut a
pole using a cutting torch.
00:59:01.170 --> 00:59:04.649
And between Fain and Mark,
the next thing we knew
00:59:04.650 --> 00:59:06.809
was that thermite would
be a much better way
00:59:06.810 --> 00:59:07.810
to cut the poles.
00:59:11.310 --> 00:59:14.269
Mark said, \"Well, I don\'t
have money for thermite.\"
00:59:14.270 --> 00:59:21.279
So somehow it ended up that
Mark drove Fain to Tucson
00:59:21.280 --> 00:59:25.659
to try to get the money to buy
thermite from Dave Foreman.
00:59:25.660 --> 00:59:29.949
And this was going to be how the
FBI was going to put Dave away
00:59:29.950 --> 00:59:31.419
for the rest his life.
00:59:31.420 --> 00:59:33.129
- We\'re sticking a
wrench in the system!
00:59:33.130 --> 00:59:34.678
We\'re slowing it down!
00:59:34.679 --> 00:59:35.470
We\'re thwarting it!
00:59:35.471 --> 00:59:38.849
We\'re kicking it in the face!
00:59:38.850 --> 00:59:43.389
- And I think the FBI learned
from their repression of civil
00:59:43.390 --> 00:59:46.189
movements in the
\'60s and \'70s that...
00:59:46.190 --> 00:59:51.289
they try to infiltrate groups,
but it\'s extremely effective
00:59:51.290 --> 00:59:56.467
if you can make an example
of a high profile person.
00:59:56.468 --> 00:59:57.422
- Earth First!
00:59:57.423 --> 01:00:00.761
(CHEERING)
01:00:04.580 --> 01:00:07.699
- Dave never talked to
anyone about the thermite,
01:00:07.700 --> 01:00:11.799
and Fain\'s attempts to implicate
him in the plan failed.
01:00:11.800 --> 01:00:14.129
Frazier was the one who
finally made some headway.
01:00:14.130 --> 01:00:18.699
He asked Dave to sign a copy
of his book, \"Eco Defense.\"
01:00:18.700 --> 01:00:20.659
Dave agreed, and wrote, \"To Ron.
01:00:20.660 --> 01:00:23.920
Happy wrenching.\"
01:00:27.390 --> 01:00:30.479
By doing this, Dave was
pulled into the conspiracy
01:00:30.480 --> 01:00:32.255
case being built by the FBI.
01:00:34.660 --> 01:00:36.589
- And so there was
me and Mark Davis
01:00:36.590 --> 01:00:39.279
and Marc Baker and Mike Fain.
01:00:39.280 --> 01:00:43.339
And there was I don\'t know how
many microphones running that
01:00:43.340 --> 01:00:45.939
night... because
Mike had one on him,
01:00:45.940 --> 01:00:48.029
and then there was
one in the truck...
01:00:48.030 --> 01:00:50.259
the truck that was
owned by the FBI.
01:00:50.260 --> 01:00:55.099
And also, the acetylene
was also bought by the FBI.
01:00:55.100 --> 01:00:58.689
And oh yeah, the gas also
was bought by the FBI.
01:00:58.690 --> 01:01:01.609
And so we get there and I\'m
putting out little fires,
01:01:01.610 --> 01:01:04.819
because every time Mark was
using the acetylene torch,
01:01:04.820 --> 01:01:05.979
little fires are happening.
01:01:05.980 --> 01:01:08.709
And all of a sudden,
a flare goes off.
01:01:08.710 --> 01:01:11.079
And then I heard, \"Halt!
01:01:11.080 --> 01:01:13.289
It\'s the FBI!\"
01:01:13.290 --> 01:01:15.259
And these metallic clicks.
01:01:15.260 --> 01:01:19.709
And I went, uh, I
think I better leave.
01:01:19.710 --> 01:01:21.934
So I just turned tail and ran.
01:01:21.935 --> 01:01:24.959
- FBI agents have been searching
for 35-year-old Margaret
01:01:24.960 --> 01:01:26.674
Millett of Prescott
since last night.
01:01:26.675 --> 01:01:28.974
Millett eluded arrest
as two others...
01:01:28.975 --> 01:01:32.909
38-year-old Mark Davis and
37-year-old Marc Baker...
01:01:32.910 --> 01:01:34.739
Allegedly were using
a propane torch...
01:01:34.740 --> 01:01:38.519
- At that moment, I knew
that Fain was a narc.
01:01:38.520 --> 01:01:40.659
I saw the whole thing.
01:01:40.660 --> 01:01:46.684
Very strange kind of a calm
feeling, like oh, I get it now.
01:01:46.685 --> 01:01:48.679
I didn\'t know my
house had been bugged,
01:01:48.680 --> 01:01:51.860
and I didn\'t know Frazier
had been working for them.
01:01:54.150 --> 01:01:57.679
Finding out about it
was really hard for me,
01:01:57.680 --> 01:02:03.259
because the level of
violation was so...
01:02:03.260 --> 01:02:04.925
out of line.
01:02:04.926 --> 01:02:08.169
And Ron...
01:02:08.170 --> 01:02:10.035
I trusted him to
babysit my kids.
01:02:14.080 --> 01:02:16.649
- Four people, including the
co-founder of the radical
01:02:16.650 --> 01:02:18.419
environmental
group Earth First!,
01:02:18.420 --> 01:02:20.769
are in federal
custody this morning.
01:02:20.770 --> 01:02:23.309
They are charged with conspiring
to sabotage nuclear power
01:02:23.310 --> 01:02:25.599
plants in California
and Arizona,
01:02:25.600 --> 01:02:28.129
and a nuclear weapons
factory in Colorado.
01:02:28.130 --> 01:02:32.279
- The FBI finally got their
man, and arrested him in bed
01:02:32.280 --> 01:02:33.280
at 6:00 AM.
01:02:39.750 --> 01:02:43.555
- Well, the FBI had
spent $3 million dollars
01:02:43.556 --> 01:02:48.310
trying to frame me, and to
wreck the Earth First! movement.
01:02:49.290 --> 01:02:51.591
- So this really isn\'t the
guy we need to pop, I mean,
01:02:51.592 --> 01:02:54.339
in terms of actual perpetrators.
01:02:54.340 --> 01:02:57.413
But this is the guy we need
to pop to send a message.
01:02:57.414 --> 01:02:58.829
And that\'s all
we\'re really doing.
01:02:58.830 --> 01:03:01.046
And if we don\'t nail this
guy, and we only get Davis,
01:03:01.047 --> 01:03:03.129
we\'re not sending any
message he hasn\'t predicted.
01:03:03.130 --> 01:03:05.889
- This band of wrenchers,
known as the \"Arizona 5\",
01:03:05.890 --> 01:03:08.829
were put on trial
for conspiracy.
01:03:08.830 --> 01:03:10.639
Their lawyers
countered, and said
01:03:10.640 --> 01:03:12.739
the government
entrapped the five
01:03:12.740 --> 01:03:16.189
and created a conspiracy
through the actions of Frazier
01:03:16.190 --> 01:03:17.190
and Fain.
01:03:18.820 --> 01:03:23.249
- The FBI agent had this habit
of leaving his tape recorder
01:03:23.250 --> 01:03:26.019
on after he was done.
01:03:26.020 --> 01:03:29.689
And he tape recorded himself
talking to his supervisor
01:03:29.690 --> 01:03:32.239
over the phone.
01:03:32.240 --> 01:03:34.669
And the way it got
transcribed by the FBI
01:03:34.670 --> 01:03:38.949
said, \"Yeah, we got into
a little traffic problem.\"
01:03:38.950 --> 01:03:42.829
But what he really says is, \"I
got into a little entrapment
01:03:42.830 --> 01:03:49.389
problem.\" (LAUGHING) Two
very different things.
01:03:49.390 --> 01:03:51.149
- The government
sees it differently.
01:03:51.150 --> 01:03:53.959
The prosecutor told
the jury that the FBI
01:03:53.960 --> 01:03:56.659
put an end to what she
called \"Earth First!\'s
01:03:56.660 --> 01:03:58.309
terrifying adventure.\"
01:03:58.310 --> 01:04:01.199
- The trial dragged on, and
ultimately the entrapment
01:04:01.200 --> 01:04:02.859
argument failed.
01:04:02.860 --> 01:04:05.719
Even so, a plea
bargain was arranged.
01:04:05.720 --> 01:04:10.059
Ilse, Peg, Marc Baker and
Mark Davis pled guilty
01:04:10.060 --> 01:04:11.170
and served time.
01:04:13.570 --> 01:04:16.769
Dave served no time, but
agreed to a felony conspiracy
01:04:16.770 --> 01:04:19.489
charge that would be knocked
down to a misdemeanor
01:04:19.490 --> 01:04:20.490
after five years.
01:04:22.460 --> 01:04:25.209
I wish Ed had been around
to respond to this,
01:04:25.210 --> 01:04:30.809
but he died just six weeks
before the arrests took place.
01:04:30.810 --> 01:04:34.779
- The thing I missed through
all that was Ed not being there,
01:04:34.780 --> 01:04:38.809
because Ed could have so well
excoriated the government
01:04:38.810 --> 01:04:43.979
spooks and undercover agents and
the whole repression of Earth
01:04:43.980 --> 01:04:45.419
First!
01:04:45.420 --> 01:04:50.020
And we didn\'t have that voice
which I really missed.
01:05:04.160 --> 01:05:08.790
- That\'s what I show the Feds
when they knock at my door.
01:05:14.740 --> 01:05:16.799
You know, somebody asked
me about monkeywrenching
01:05:16.800 --> 01:05:19.699
and its relevance to today.
01:05:19.700 --> 01:05:21.639
It\'s still relevant today.
01:05:21.640 --> 01:05:26.429
And, you know, it\'s not just
the physical monkeywrenching
01:05:26.430 --> 01:05:32.579
of taking on the tools of
technology and destruction,
01:05:32.580 --> 01:05:38.099
but I think today, it\'s more
a metaphor for standing up
01:05:38.100 --> 01:05:39.550
for what\'s right at the time.
01:05:41.130 --> 01:05:44.219
And that means taking an
individual stance every day
01:05:44.220 --> 01:05:50.639
for what you see as
wrong, and act upon it.
01:05:50.640 --> 01:05:54.099
And I mean to stand up
in a nonviolent way.
01:05:54.100 --> 01:05:56.839
I mean to stand up in
a more militant way.
01:05:56.840 --> 01:06:00.401
- These are lifelines, and this
man\'s neck is connected to it.
01:06:00.402 --> 01:06:02.749
He cannot move.
01:06:02.750 --> 01:06:05.539
- So monkeywrenching is
relevant mostly today,
01:06:05.540 --> 01:06:09.374
I think, as a symbol
for that militancy
01:06:09.375 --> 01:06:11.949
and the refusal to
compromise, especially when it
01:06:11.950 --> 01:06:13.215
comes to issues of wilderness.
01:06:15.508 --> 01:06:17.476
(MUSIC PLAYING)
01:06:51.920 --> 01:06:54.349
- You know, when you talk
about monkeywrenching,
01:06:54.350 --> 01:06:56.359
it\'s something very
close to my heart.
01:06:56.360 --> 01:07:01.009
Because I come from a family
whose construction business has
01:07:01.010 --> 01:07:03.599
been tied to oil and gas.
01:07:03.600 --> 01:07:07.459
And so when Ed Abbey was
talking about monkeywrenching
01:07:07.460 --> 01:07:11.199
and as Doug and Foreman
were out doing it,
01:07:11.200 --> 01:07:13.929
my family were
the beneficiaries.
01:07:13.930 --> 01:07:16.454
But I have to tell
you, I asked my father,
01:07:16.455 --> 01:07:19.549
will you come with me
to go hear Ed Abbey?
01:07:19.550 --> 01:07:21.265
So my father went,
and he was dubious.
01:07:21.266 --> 01:07:22.889
He said, \"I want to
see who this guy is
01:07:22.890 --> 01:07:25.509
who\'s been sugaring my trucks.\"
01:07:25.510 --> 01:07:28.839
My father was the first one
to stand after Ed sat down,
01:07:28.840 --> 01:07:31.739
and my father was also the first
person that went up and said,
01:07:31.740 --> 01:07:34.399
\"Mr. Abbey, I don\'t
agree with your politics,
01:07:34.400 --> 01:07:36.669
but I agree with you.\"
01:07:36.670 --> 01:07:41.889
- I think that what Ed
did that probably nobody
01:07:41.890 --> 01:07:46.659
else of his generation was
able to do with his words
01:07:46.660 --> 01:07:52.184
and his actions
were just something
01:07:52.185 --> 01:07:56.519
that made everybody stop
and think how much he meant
01:07:56.520 --> 01:08:00.123
for this to keep on going.
01:08:00.124 --> 01:08:00.832
- Yes, it\'s true.
01:08:00.833 --> 01:08:03.959
I\'m going to experiment
on you people tonight...
01:08:03.960 --> 01:08:09.719
use you for guinea pigs, try
out a chapter from a new book.
01:08:09.720 --> 01:08:14.869
The book is called
\"Hayduke Lives!\"
01:08:14.870 --> 01:08:17.834
(APPLAUSE)
01:08:18.855 --> 01:08:20.228
- And this chapter
I want to read
01:08:20.229 --> 01:08:25.148
tonight is called
\"Rendezvous.\" \"They
01:08:25.149 --> 01:08:29.929
straggled in from everywhere
that\'s dim, obscure, unsavory.\"
01:08:29.930 --> 01:08:31.576
- In writing
\"Hayduke Lives!,\" Ed
01:08:31.577 --> 01:08:33.409
wrote down some of the
most radical thoughts
01:08:33.410 --> 01:08:35.349
that he\'d ever had.
01:08:35.350 --> 01:08:39.148
And, of course, they surrounded
George Washington Hayduke.
01:08:39.149 --> 01:08:41.831
- \"...and every
which way but loose.\"
01:08:44.290 --> 01:08:46.398
And so on.
01:08:46.399 --> 01:08:49.899
(LAUGHTER)
01:08:52.020 --> 01:08:54.228
This is quite a lengthy chapter.
01:08:54.229 --> 01:08:55.229
I guess...
01:08:57.729 --> 01:09:00.705
I better skip some of
the better parts here.
01:09:07.540 --> 01:09:10.089
- \"The eco-warrior
does not fight people.
01:09:10.090 --> 01:09:12.179
He fights an institution...
01:09:12.180 --> 01:09:16.419
the planetary empire
of growth and greed.\"
01:09:16.420 --> 01:09:17.220
I\'ve forgotten...
01:09:17.221 --> 01:09:21.409
I mean when you think that
this is the first draft,
01:09:21.410 --> 01:09:25.357
this book is the first
draft and the last thing
01:09:25.358 --> 01:09:26.358
that he ever wrote.
01:09:29.290 --> 01:09:31.983
Hayduke, by this
time, has escaped.
01:09:31.984 --> 01:09:34.778
He is now at the Sea of Cortez.
01:09:34.779 --> 01:09:38.938
He\'s driven his
Cadillac down there...
01:09:38.939 --> 01:09:42.568
Which would have been
Ed\'s Cadillac convertible,
01:09:42.569 --> 01:09:44.163
which was a horrible car.
01:09:44.164 --> 01:09:45.499
Really was.
01:09:45.500 --> 01:09:48.728
He wanted me to go in on it with
him, half and half, and I said,
01:09:48.729 --> 01:09:50.739
are you out of your mind?
01:09:50.740 --> 01:09:55.049
Anyway, Hayduke has gotten
to the Sea of Cortez.
01:09:55.050 --> 01:09:56.709
The bad guys are on his tail.
01:09:56.710 --> 01:09:58.730
They\'ve been shooting
at each other.
01:10:01.570 --> 01:10:04.639
- \"Hayduke heard the shot,
waited, felt no harm, continued
01:10:04.640 --> 01:10:05.510
stroking forward.
01:10:05.511 --> 01:10:08.029
He reached the shadow of
the dark ship an easy half
01:10:08.030 --> 01:10:08.900
hour later.
01:10:08.901 --> 01:10:11.969
He read the name under
the bow. \'Sea Shepherd.\'\"
01:10:11.970 --> 01:10:14.270
\'That you, George?\' a voice
called down from the rail
01:10:14.271 --> 01:10:14.770
above.
01:10:14.771 --> 01:10:16.479
\'It\'s me, Paul.\'
01:10:16.480 --> 01:10:17.390
\'About time.\'
01:10:17.391 --> 01:10:18.889
A rope ladder tumbled
down the side,
01:10:18.890 --> 01:10:20.739
barely reaching the
water as the ship
01:10:20.740 --> 01:10:22.674
rocked gently back and
forth. \'Grab that thing
01:10:22.675 --> 01:10:23.580
and come aboard.
01:10:23.580 --> 01:10:24.530
Had us worried, buddy.
01:10:24.531 --> 01:10:25.889
All that vulgar gunfire.
01:10:25.890 --> 01:10:28.049
You all right?\'
01:10:28.050 --> 01:10:30.759
\'I\'m all right, Captain.\'
Hayduke wrapped a hand around
01:10:30.760 --> 01:10:33.751
the ladder\'s bottom rung
and rested for a moment.\"
01:10:33.752 --> 01:10:37.249
- \"He stared back at the
coast of Sonoran Mexico,
01:10:37.250 --> 01:10:40.499
the dark unpeopled
desert, the rising
01:10:40.500 --> 01:10:44.039
brightening and triumphant moon.
01:10:44.040 --> 01:10:47.379
He unlatched the life jacket
and caressed his hairy chest.
01:10:47.380 --> 01:10:48.669
Scratched his belly.
01:10:48.670 --> 01:10:51.629
Felt the steady
pumping of his heart.
01:10:51.630 --> 01:10:53.759
Alive.
01:10:53.760 --> 01:10:58.184
He was alive.\"
01:10:58.185 --> 01:10:59.160
Phew.
01:10:59.161 --> 01:11:01.129
Amazing book.
01:11:01.130 --> 01:11:04.159
In a way, Ed is
working on the dialogue
01:11:04.160 --> 01:11:07.399
through his adult
life as to how far you
01:11:07.400 --> 01:11:10.760
have to go to defend homeland.
01:11:16.870 --> 01:11:22.669
I tell you, Ed and I, we always
wondered how far was too far.
01:11:22.670 --> 01:11:26.801
And what would happen
if things got to that.
01:11:26.802 --> 01:11:34.019
- Well, you know, I think that
the FBI raids on Earth First!
01:11:34.020 --> 01:11:38.819
Had a huge unintended
consequence.
01:11:38.820 --> 01:11:41.049
- They sang familiar
protest songs,
01:11:41.050 --> 01:11:43.959
and did familiar protest things.
01:11:43.960 --> 01:11:45.739
Many came to be
arrested, and were.
01:11:45.740 --> 01:11:50.339
- We don\'t believe
in Rocky Flats.
01:11:50.340 --> 01:11:53.199
- Their goal was to
destroy the movement.
01:11:53.200 --> 01:11:56.729
But what happened was there
were a tremendous amount
01:11:56.730 --> 01:12:01.029
of very dedicated
creative young people
01:12:01.030 --> 01:12:06.239
who went on to form dozens of
other environmental groups.
01:12:06.240 --> 01:12:10.599
And so they didn\'t kill the
passion and the drive at all.
01:12:10.600 --> 01:12:16.009
If anything, they reinforced
it and they pushed it out
01:12:16.010 --> 01:12:20.975
into 100 different tentacles
that they couldn\'t control.
01:12:24.350 --> 01:12:27.929
- And then, as time went on
and as Earth First! developed,
01:12:27.930 --> 01:12:29.409
and there were all
different types
01:12:29.410 --> 01:12:32.579
of actions from monkeywrenching
to civil disobedience,
01:12:32.580 --> 01:12:36.889
there was almost a splinter
within that movement that felt
01:12:36.890 --> 01:12:38.879
even that was not far enough.
01:12:38.880 --> 01:12:40.759
That that was not
achieving the results
01:12:40.760 --> 01:12:43.949
necessary to protect
our natural environment.
01:12:43.950 --> 01:12:48.689
And they asked the question,
\"What do we do now?\"
01:12:48.690 --> 01:12:50.869
- The first time I received
a communication was
01:12:50.870 --> 01:12:52.789
from the Animal
Liberation Front,
01:12:52.790 --> 01:12:54.529
and this was claiming
responsibility
01:12:54.530 --> 01:12:59.039
for the release of about
12,000 mink from a fur farm
01:12:59.040 --> 01:13:00.899
about half an hour
from Portland, Oregon.
01:13:00.900 --> 01:13:03.429
- The Animal Liberation
Front is taking credit
01:13:03.430 --> 01:13:05.629
for the release of thousands
of mink in Kaysville.
01:13:05.630 --> 01:13:07.128
- It had the ability
to actually get
01:13:07.129 --> 01:13:09.169
a decent amount
of public support.
01:13:09.170 --> 01:13:10.869
And at some point
along the line,
01:13:10.870 --> 01:13:14.429
individuals within that movement
realized that the 20 animals we
01:13:14.430 --> 01:13:17.199
just took from that
university the night before...
01:13:17.200 --> 01:13:18.779
they were replaced the next day.
01:13:18.780 --> 01:13:21.113
The university just went and
bought more from a breeder.
01:13:22.010 --> 01:13:26.339
So they graduated in their own
line of thinking and tactics.
01:13:26.340 --> 01:13:28.319
And they would destroy
laboratory equipment
01:13:28.320 --> 01:13:30.919
in that process to make
it so they couldn\'t just
01:13:30.920 --> 01:13:32.839
pick up and operate
the very next day,
01:13:32.840 --> 01:13:34.829
as if nothing happened.
01:13:34.830 --> 01:13:37.549
And then I received a
communication at one point
01:13:37.550 --> 01:13:40.589
from a group calling themselves
the ELF, or Earth Liberation
01:13:40.590 --> 01:13:41.590
Front.
01:13:42.180 --> 01:13:43.814
It was a far leap
from taking animals
01:13:43.815 --> 01:13:45.189
out of a laboratory
of a fur farm
01:13:45.190 --> 01:13:48.919
and burning entire
buildings to the ground.
01:13:48.920 --> 01:13:51.009
So I had to think about
that quite a lot before I
01:13:51.010 --> 01:13:52.979
agreed to release
that information
01:13:52.980 --> 01:13:54.389
to the press and media.
01:13:54.390 --> 01:13:58.249
And I eventually did
that only because I
01:13:58.250 --> 01:14:00.974
felt the public had a right
to know that these aren\'t just
01:14:00.975 --> 01:14:02.229
terrorists.
01:14:02.230 --> 01:14:05.299
These were people out there
that had gone through everything
01:14:05.300 --> 01:14:07.709
that they had been taught to
change things in our world
01:14:07.710 --> 01:14:10.090
if you see an injustice,
and it didn\'t work.
01:14:12.340 --> 01:14:15.559
I understand their motives, but
the benefit versus the risk...
01:14:15.560 --> 01:14:17.419
is it the right thing
for the movement?
01:14:17.420 --> 01:14:19.779
Is it going to win
public support?
01:14:19.780 --> 01:14:21.619
And is it going to kill someone?
01:14:21.620 --> 01:14:24.629
- Security has been beefed up at
the nation\'s largest ski resort
01:14:24.630 --> 01:14:26.569
in Vail, Colorado this morning.
01:14:26.570 --> 01:14:29.124
An environmental group claimed
responsibility for the blaze,
01:14:29.125 --> 01:14:31.419
saying that they set
the fire on purpose
01:14:31.420 --> 01:14:34.229
to protect an endangered
species, the lynx.
01:14:34.230 --> 01:14:37.459
- Meanwhile, the arson attacks
have increased... some by ALF,
01:14:37.460 --> 01:14:38.599
some by copycats.
01:14:38.600 --> 01:14:40.869
- acts of ecological terror.
01:14:40.870 --> 01:14:44.259
- And as time went on, and
the momentum increased,
01:14:44.260 --> 01:14:47.009
it got so large
and began to get,
01:14:47.010 --> 01:14:50.219
I think, increasingly
careless about the targets
01:14:50.220 --> 01:14:51.190
that were picked.
01:14:51.191 --> 01:14:54.139
So from a strategy
standpoint, the question
01:14:54.140 --> 01:14:55.748
is, was it beneficial
to the movement?
01:14:55.749 --> 01:14:57.289
And that\'s where I
have to say that I
01:14:57.290 --> 01:14:58.629
don\'t think it probably was.
01:14:58.630 --> 01:15:01.599
Because those particular actions
the way they were done,
01:15:01.600 --> 01:15:03.849
when they were done
in terms of history...
01:15:03.850 --> 01:15:06.410
Did not have the ability
to win that public support.
01:15:08.310 --> 01:15:11.435
- One of the problems
with the ALF approach
01:15:11.436 --> 01:15:16.174
is that their tactics go way
beyond what monkeywrenching
01:15:16.175 --> 01:15:17.629
was.
01:15:17.630 --> 01:15:19.539
When you start
dealing with arson,
01:15:19.540 --> 01:15:21.989
you\'re in a whole
other ball game.
01:15:21.990 --> 01:15:25.339
- The Feds making a dent in
a major eco-terrorism ring...
01:15:25.340 --> 01:15:28.819
- They were labeled the number
one domestic terror threat.
01:15:28.820 --> 01:15:31.999
And, by association,
the movement as a whole
01:15:32.000 --> 01:15:34.471
was suspect.
01:15:34.472 --> 01:15:35.804
- They\'re not environmentalists.
01:15:35.805 --> 01:15:37.699
They\'re terrorists.
01:15:37.700 --> 01:15:41.529
- Terrorism is terrorism,
no matter what the motive.
01:15:41.530 --> 01:15:43.294
- They even have \"The
Monkey Wrench Gang\"
01:15:43.295 --> 01:15:45.809
and Dave Foreman\'s
\"Eco-Defense: A Field Guide
01:15:45.810 --> 01:15:49.969
to Monkeywrenching\" on an
eco-terrorism watch list.
01:15:49.970 --> 01:15:54.459
- I would distinguish between
terrorism and sabotage.
01:15:54.460 --> 01:15:57.859
Terrorism is violence
against living things...
01:15:57.860 --> 01:16:00.719
People and other animals.
01:16:00.720 --> 01:16:06.859
Sabotage is violence
against machinery, property.
01:16:06.860 --> 01:16:10.189
I\'d go so far as to say
that a bulldozer tearing up
01:16:10.190 --> 01:16:14.109
a hillside, ripping out trees
for the purpose of a logging
01:16:14.110 --> 01:16:19.179
operation or a strip mine, is
committing a kind of terrorism
01:16:19.180 --> 01:16:20.180
against life.
01:16:22.210 --> 01:16:27.229
- Eco-terrorism, to me, is what
happens to habitat when it is
01:16:27.230 --> 01:16:28.480
being turned into money.
01:16:41.885 --> 01:16:43.009
- What is an eco-terrorist?
01:16:43.010 --> 01:16:43.800
Hmm.
01:16:43.801 --> 01:16:45.219
Exxon\'s an ecoterrorist company.
01:16:45.220 --> 01:16:47.609
BP\'s an eco-terrorist company.
01:16:47.610 --> 01:16:49.565
Union Carbide\'s an
eco-terrorist company.
01:16:49.566 --> 01:16:51.689
The eco-terrorists are
terrorizing the environment.
01:16:51.690 --> 01:16:54.359
That is, to me, the
definition of eco-terrorism.
01:16:54.360 --> 01:16:58.489
Those people who are trying
to protect our planet are,
01:16:58.490 --> 01:16:59.040
of course...
01:16:59.041 --> 01:17:02.509
I guess could be rightfully
called eco-warriors, in a way.
01:17:02.510 --> 01:17:07.133
I don\'t really go for the
titles very much on that.
01:17:07.134 --> 01:17:08.799
But I think defending
the natural world,
01:17:08.800 --> 01:17:11.299
of course you\'re going to bring
a lot of anger and hostility
01:17:11.300 --> 01:17:14.239
towards you, because there\'s
so much money being made
01:17:14.240 --> 01:17:15.480
from destroying this planet.
01:17:17.460 --> 01:17:21.099
- The issue isn\'t an
environmental issue.
01:17:21.100 --> 01:17:22.959
It\'s a cultural issue.
01:17:22.960 --> 01:17:25.339
It\'s about how people
live their lives nowadays.
01:17:25.340 --> 01:17:27.949
Sometimes I get the impression
from some of my friends
01:17:27.950 --> 01:17:30.149
who are environmentalists
that they think
01:17:30.150 --> 01:17:34.779
only Republicans drive cars or
build houses or use flat screen
01:17:34.780 --> 01:17:35.680
televisions.
01:17:35.681 --> 01:17:39.959
We complain about leases being
sold near Arches National Park,
01:17:39.960 --> 01:17:41.429
but we don\'t
acknowledge the fact
01:17:41.430 --> 01:17:43.369
that we, as consumers,
would probably
01:17:43.370 --> 01:17:45.869
be using the oil that would
come from those leases
01:17:45.870 --> 01:17:48.189
if those leases
had been developed.
01:17:48.190 --> 01:17:52.359
This is a global issue, and it\'s
about greed and materialism.
01:17:52.360 --> 01:17:55.469
And we are all
involved and guilty.
01:17:55.470 --> 01:17:57.749
And I think it\'s important
that we remember that.
01:17:57.750 --> 01:18:00.429
Instead of always pointing
fingers at somebody else,
01:18:00.430 --> 01:18:03.387
I think we need to point them
at ourselves from time to time.
01:18:06.740 --> 01:18:09.659
- It\'s very difficult
when you have
01:18:09.660 --> 01:18:12.309
a species that lives in
a fantasy world, which
01:18:12.310 --> 01:18:14.809
is what our species does.
01:18:14.810 --> 01:18:19.659
We have constructed
this anti-nature fantasy
01:18:19.660 --> 01:18:22.299
that we live in so
that we\'re no longer
01:18:22.300 --> 01:18:24.009
a part of the natural world.
01:18:24.010 --> 01:18:26.343
I was giving a talk at
the University of Texas
01:18:26.344 --> 01:18:28.259
a couple months ago, and
somebody said, \"Well,
01:18:28.260 --> 01:18:31.649
we don\'t need other species.
01:18:31.650 --> 01:18:34.819
We as human beings could live
on this planet by ourselves,
01:18:34.820 --> 01:18:37.608
and we have technology, and
we have all these things.\"
01:18:37.609 --> 01:18:39.649
And I said, well, first
of all, what do you mean,
01:18:39.650 --> 01:18:41.194
you don\'t need other species?
01:18:41.195 --> 01:18:42.319
I said, I\'m looking at you.
01:18:42.320 --> 01:18:43.358
What am I seeing?
01:18:43.359 --> 01:18:45.399
Are you an individual?
\"Yeah, I\'m an individual.\"
01:18:45.400 --> 01:18:47.059
I said, no you\'re not.
01:18:47.060 --> 01:18:49.059
You know, there\'s
2 and 1/2 kilograms
01:18:49.060 --> 01:18:51.059
of living things
in and on your body
01:18:51.060 --> 01:18:55.119
representing some 700 to
1,000 species of bacteria,
01:18:55.120 --> 01:18:56.969
representing a total
population probably
01:18:56.970 --> 01:18:59.619
of a trillion
individual organisms.
01:18:59.620 --> 01:19:03.189
And these organisms
digest your food,
01:19:03.190 --> 01:19:06.259
manufacture the
vitamins that you need,
01:19:06.260 --> 01:19:08.129
and groom your eyelashes.
01:19:08.130 --> 01:19:09.419
You\'re not an individual.
01:19:09.420 --> 01:19:11.959
You are a symbiont.
01:19:11.960 --> 01:19:15.685
And whatever happens to those
bacteria will affect you.
01:19:22.160 --> 01:19:24.949
- I think the question
that I keep asking
01:19:24.950 --> 01:19:28.759
myself is, how serious am I?
01:19:28.760 --> 01:19:30.012
How serious are we?
01:19:31.700 --> 01:19:36.419
It comes down to some
really tough choices about,
01:19:36.420 --> 01:19:38.449
how shall we live?
01:19:38.450 --> 01:19:40.859
What does that look like?
01:19:40.860 --> 01:19:43.209
And that requires sacrifice.
01:19:43.210 --> 01:19:45.339
- A demonstration of
civil disobedience
01:19:45.340 --> 01:19:47.249
played out in Salt
Lake this evening
01:19:47.250 --> 01:19:49.396
over the conviction
and prison sentence
01:19:49.397 --> 01:19:50.605
of an environmental activist.
01:19:53.150 --> 01:19:56.219
- Tim DeChristopher
has made a sacrifice.
01:19:56.220 --> 01:19:59.519
I think what Tim has
asked us to consider
01:19:59.520 --> 01:20:05.069
is, what are we willing to
do for a livable future?
01:20:05.070 --> 01:20:10.459
- A judge decided that
environmental problems
01:20:10.460 --> 01:20:15.139
like global warming is not
to be used in his defense.
01:20:15.140 --> 01:20:20.441
Thus, the reason he did it:
for environmental reasons.
01:20:20.442 --> 01:20:24.819
But if he can\'t use that in
his defense in front of a jury,
01:20:24.820 --> 01:20:27.359
where does he go from here?
01:20:27.360 --> 01:20:32.659
- Tim DeChristopher\'s case
is an amazing culmination
01:20:32.660 --> 01:20:35.449
of the last 20 years.
01:20:35.450 --> 01:20:38.039
I had been consulting
with Edward Abbey
01:20:38.040 --> 01:20:41.929
on an ending for his sequel
to \"The Monkey Wrench Gang.\"
01:20:41.930 --> 01:20:45.849
And he intended a very
different ending in that book.
01:20:45.850 --> 01:20:49.439
He was going to have the entire
Monkey Wrench Gang prosecuted
01:20:49.440 --> 01:20:50.989
and placed on trial.
01:20:50.990 --> 01:20:54.609
But the legal team was
going to turn the tables
01:20:54.610 --> 01:20:59.199
and have the jury acquit the
defendants by finding that
01:20:59.200 --> 01:21:02.029
even though they may
have violated the law,
01:21:02.030 --> 01:21:04.949
that they were acting
out of an intent
01:21:04.950 --> 01:21:08.930
to prevent a greater harm
to the general welfare.
01:21:12.510 --> 01:21:14.296
- What do you want
to tell the judge?
01:21:14.297 --> 01:21:15.754
- Well, I\'ve got
plenty of comments
01:21:15.755 --> 01:21:17.719
that I\'m going to make
to the judge today.
01:21:17.720 --> 01:21:19.429
- Do you regret what you did?
01:21:19.430 --> 01:21:20.061
- No.
01:21:20.061 --> 01:21:20.560
- Why?
01:21:20.561 --> 01:21:22.142
- It was an act of
civil disobedience.
01:21:22.143 --> 01:21:23.913
It was a conscious choice.
01:21:23.914 --> 01:21:29.929
And it\'s played out in a way
that the facts have supported
01:21:29.930 --> 01:21:31.999
my suspicions
about this auction,
01:21:32.000 --> 01:21:34.749
and the government has
admitted the mistakes that were
01:21:34.750 --> 01:21:36.702
made and reversed the auction.
01:21:40.118 --> 01:21:43.279
So I don\'t see anything that
I should be remorseful about.
01:21:43.280 --> 01:21:44.939
- Would you do it again?
01:21:44.940 --> 01:21:45.940
- Yes.
01:21:48.910 --> 01:21:50.699
- I was at Tim\'s trial.
01:21:50.700 --> 01:21:54.029
And the thing that
was so horrifying
01:21:54.030 --> 01:21:56.346
is that Tim was never
allowed to tell his story.
01:21:58.500 --> 01:21:59.939
- Hang in there, Tim!
01:21:59.940 --> 01:22:02.819
(CHEERING)
01:22:02.820 --> 01:22:06.149
- Tim was sentenced to two years
for stopping the illegal lease
01:22:06.150 --> 01:22:08.349
of our publicly held trust.
01:22:08.350 --> 01:22:12.719
Before they took him away, he
had this to say to the court.
01:22:12.720 --> 01:22:17.239
\"You have authority over my
life, but not my principles.
01:22:17.240 --> 01:22:20.559
I\'m not saying any of
this to ask you for mercy,
01:22:20.560 --> 01:22:22.999
but to ask you to
join me in valuing
01:22:23.000 --> 01:22:28.479
this country\'s rich history of
nonviolent civil disobedience.
01:22:28.480 --> 01:22:33.938
The choice you are making today
is, what side are you on?\"
01:22:37.555 --> 01:22:41.469
Tim\'s action brings to
mind another effective form
01:22:41.470 --> 01:22:43.139
of wilderness protection.
01:22:43.140 --> 01:22:46.259
It\'s called \"paper
monkeywrenching.\"
01:22:46.260 --> 01:22:49.269
- Well, paper
monkeywrenching is something
01:22:49.270 --> 01:22:53.759
that\'s been going on
for a long, long time.
01:22:53.760 --> 01:22:58.939
It\'s a matter of stopping
agencies or others
01:22:58.940 --> 01:23:03.739
from doing bad things, and
using the system against them.
01:23:03.740 --> 01:23:07.559
Even the Wilderness
Act in 1964 was a form
01:23:07.560 --> 01:23:09.389
of paper monkeywrenching.
01:23:09.390 --> 01:23:12.009
- No single Congress
in my memory
01:23:12.010 --> 01:23:16.759
has done so much to keep America
as a good and wholesome and
01:23:16.760 --> 01:23:17.880
beautiful place to live.
01:23:19.779 --> 01:23:22.319
- Most of the environmental laws
we work with today have been
01:23:22.320 --> 01:23:26.879
on the books since the late
\'60s or \'70s, but were largely
01:23:26.880 --> 01:23:28.859
ignored.
01:23:28.860 --> 01:23:30.599
And we and a whole
bunch of other groups
01:23:30.600 --> 01:23:34.909
in the early \'90s decided to
go out and use these laws,
01:23:34.910 --> 01:23:38.259
use these processes
set up by the system
01:23:38.260 --> 01:23:40.589
to their fullest extent.
01:23:40.590 --> 01:23:47.139
Because we do litigate so much,
we\'re sometimes criticized...
01:23:47.140 --> 01:23:49.929
Even by folks in the
environmental movement...
01:23:49.930 --> 01:23:54.329
For not compromising enough.
01:23:54.330 --> 01:23:56.709
And it\'s really a
crazy thought when
01:23:56.710 --> 01:24:00.879
you think about it, because
environmental laws are
01:24:00.880 --> 01:24:02.449
the compromise.
01:24:02.450 --> 01:24:09.179
No environmental law is what
we wanted it to be initially.
01:24:09.180 --> 01:24:12.279
So our position is,
we are enforcing
01:24:12.280 --> 01:24:17.679
laws created by Richard Nixon
in front of judges appointed
01:24:17.680 --> 01:24:19.809
by Ronald Reagan.
01:24:19.810 --> 01:24:24.709
And that can hardly be thought
of as a radical activity
01:24:24.710 --> 01:24:26.379
or a failure to compromise.
01:24:26.380 --> 01:24:30.309
We\'re enforcing the
compromises of the past.
01:24:30.310 --> 01:24:33.179
And if we don\'t do
that, all we\'re doing
01:24:33.180 --> 01:24:34.660
is compromising away the future.
01:24:40.180 --> 01:24:44.029
- Ed\'s writing is a form of
paper monkeywrenching as well,
01:24:44.030 --> 01:24:47.805
and I think his books changed
the path of many lives.
01:24:47.806 --> 01:24:50.649
None more, perhaps, than
Tim DeChristopher\'s,
01:24:50.650 --> 01:24:53.580
who\'s currently incarcerated
at Ken\'s bookstore.
01:24:56.130 --> 01:24:58.729
- Well technically, as we
speak, Tim DeChristopher
01:24:58.730 --> 01:25:00.309
is still in prison.
01:25:00.310 --> 01:25:04.349
But he was sentenced for the
last six months of his prison
01:25:04.350 --> 01:25:07.659
sentence to a halfway house
here in Salt Lake City.
01:25:07.660 --> 01:25:12.819
As a condition of that release,
he had to have a 40 hour a week
01:25:12.820 --> 01:25:14.324
full time job lined up.
01:25:14.325 --> 01:25:17.029
So it didn\'t take me very
long to say yes, we\'d
01:25:17.030 --> 01:25:21.459
be happy to hire Tim
DeChristopher at the bookstore.
01:25:21.460 --> 01:25:25.004
And as part of his sentencing
to the halfway house,
01:25:25.005 --> 01:25:26.649
he can\'t talk to the media.
01:25:26.650 --> 01:25:29.809
If he starts doing
what they consider
01:25:29.810 --> 01:25:32.219
to be \"social
justice activities\",
01:25:32.220 --> 01:25:34.786
it\'ll land him right
back in prison.
01:25:34.787 --> 01:25:37.939
You know, one of Ed
Abbey\'s great quotes
01:25:37.940 --> 01:25:39.629
was \"The wilderness
needs no defense.
01:25:39.630 --> 01:25:42.444
Only more defenders.\"
01:25:42.445 --> 01:25:44.979
I think that Tim
DeChristopher perceived
01:25:44.980 --> 01:25:48.149
an inequality and
an injustice that
01:25:48.150 --> 01:25:51.859
was going to affect a
whole new generation.
01:25:51.860 --> 01:25:55.819
So I consider his actions a real
act of courage and of defiance,
01:25:55.820 --> 01:25:58.609
and I certainly
think they come out
01:25:58.610 --> 01:26:03.409
of an Edward Abbey school of
actions to save the planet.
01:26:03.410 --> 01:26:06.104
But what I\'d say to Ed
Abbey today if he were still
01:26:06.105 --> 01:26:06.605
around...
01:26:06.606 --> 01:26:09.089
I\'d say, \"You know,
Ed, I don\'t know
01:26:09.090 --> 01:26:11.119
if the old school
monkeywrenching is going
01:26:11.120 --> 01:26:12.889
to get anything done anymore.
01:26:12.890 --> 01:26:14.549
I think the stakes are higher.
01:26:14.550 --> 01:26:17.499
I think the problem is nearer.
01:26:17.500 --> 01:26:22.589
I think we\'ve got to
take more direct action.\"
01:26:22.590 --> 01:26:25.319
- The most severe extended
drought in a century
01:26:25.320 --> 01:26:27.399
is threatening to
draw Lake Powell down
01:26:27.400 --> 01:26:29.019
to record low levels.
01:26:29.020 --> 01:26:31.159
Late last week, it forced
the federal government
01:26:31.160 --> 01:26:33.459
to announce an
unprecedented reduction
01:26:33.460 --> 01:26:34.910
in flows out of the lake.
01:26:36.215 --> 01:26:37.579
- Well, these are tough times.
01:26:37.580 --> 01:26:39.729
These are the most
perilous times
01:26:39.730 --> 01:26:41.529
we\'ve seen in the
history of the Earth.
01:26:41.530 --> 01:26:45.159
Even when Ed and
I and Jack and Ken
01:26:45.160 --> 01:26:47.559
were raging against
the dying of the earth,
01:26:47.560 --> 01:26:49.989
we didn\'t know this
was coming around.
01:26:49.990 --> 01:26:53.639
And there\'s really no compromise
left that we can make and still
01:26:53.640 --> 01:26:57.293
hang on to a semblance of
a world for our children,
01:26:57.294 --> 01:26:58.459
let alone our grandchildren.
01:26:58.460 --> 01:27:00.089
I mean, that\'s what\'s at stake.
01:27:00.090 --> 01:27:03.550
It\'s not just the fate of the
lynx and the grizzly bear.
01:27:11.620 --> 01:27:14.619
- There\'s 7 billion of us
on the planet right now,
01:27:14.620 --> 01:27:15.999
and there\'s going to be more.
01:27:16.000 --> 01:27:17.919
We\'re gobbling the place up.
01:27:17.920 --> 01:27:21.199
And the only thing I can
see is self-restraint...
01:27:21.200 --> 01:27:24.829
Voluntarily holding back, of
learning about to be a better
01:27:24.830 --> 01:27:25.580
neighbor.
01:27:25.581 --> 01:27:29.319
I think in many ways that\'s
the essence of the conservation
01:27:29.320 --> 01:27:31.746
consciousness, is
that we are part
01:27:31.747 --> 01:27:33.829
of this natural community,
along with the mountain
01:27:33.830 --> 01:27:36.869
mahogany and everything else.
01:27:36.870 --> 01:27:41.269
But we also have to recognize
that to get anything done
01:27:41.270 --> 01:27:44.409
politically or socially... which
is what conservation is really
01:27:44.410 --> 01:27:47.889
about... we have to be
part of a community, too.
01:27:47.890 --> 01:27:51.129
- And that\'s the enduring
legacy of Edward Abbey.
01:27:51.130 --> 01:27:53.429
He created community.
01:27:53.430 --> 01:27:54.929
A different kind of community.
01:27:54.930 --> 01:27:59.529
A community that honored
a sovereignty of spirit,
01:27:59.530 --> 01:28:01.839
taking the word
radical and bringing it
01:28:01.840 --> 01:28:04.439
into the notion of conservative.
01:28:04.440 --> 01:28:07.669
To conserve, to protect.
01:28:07.670 --> 01:28:11.039
- And Abbey also said, \"Be
a half-hearted zealot like
01:28:11.040 --> 01:28:11.990
myself.\"
01:28:11.991 --> 01:28:14.929
Fight for the freedom
of the wilderness
01:28:14.930 --> 01:28:18.529
and the integrity of
the place, but you also
01:28:18.530 --> 01:28:22.859
have to get yourself out there
and be energized by the place
01:28:22.860 --> 01:28:26.182
and be changed by it.
01:28:39.601 --> 01:28:44.429
- If people don\'t know what\'s
been lost, what\'s being lost,
01:28:44.430 --> 01:28:48.059
or what\'s at stake to
be lost in the future,
01:28:48.060 --> 01:28:50.599
how can you care
about a place that you
01:28:50.600 --> 01:28:52.190
don\'t know anything about?
01:28:54.110 --> 01:28:57.389
How do you feel
about an issue deeply
01:28:57.390 --> 01:28:58.835
that you\'re unaware exists?
01:29:03.930 --> 01:29:08.059
- Direct action and
the monkey wrench.
01:29:08.060 --> 01:29:09.850
Ed and I talked about that.
01:29:12.090 --> 01:29:16.149
The monkey wrench
is your talent.
01:29:16.150 --> 01:29:17.899
What it might be...
it might be speaking.
01:29:17.900 --> 01:29:19.624
It might be teaching.
01:29:19.625 --> 01:29:21.779
It might be writing, like Abbey.
01:29:21.780 --> 01:29:24.299
- We\'re not going to allow
them to take the water out
01:29:24.300 --> 01:29:25.579
of that river.
01:29:25.580 --> 01:29:28.449
I say this in a lot of
my talks and so forth.
01:29:28.450 --> 01:29:31.719
\"Bring your monkey wrenches
out and go at them.\"
01:29:31.720 --> 01:29:33.520
Which people think about...
01:29:33.521 --> 01:29:35.644
they think, \"Well, you\'re
going to throw the monkey
01:29:35.645 --> 01:29:39.699
wrench into the machines.\"
01:29:39.700 --> 01:29:41.764
Well, what it is is
throwing your talent
01:29:41.765 --> 01:29:45.269
and your expressions
and all your everything
01:29:45.270 --> 01:29:48.419
to make this a
better place to live.
01:29:48.420 --> 01:29:50.340
That\'s your monkey wrench.
01:29:58.040 --> 01:29:59.604
- What is all this
fantasizing to do
01:29:59.605 --> 01:30:01.509
with wilderness and freedom?
01:30:01.510 --> 01:30:03.949
We can have wilderness
without freedom.
01:30:03.950 --> 01:30:06.689
We can have wilderness
without human life at all.
01:30:06.690 --> 01:30:09.609
But we cannot have freedom
without wilderness.
01:30:09.610 --> 01:30:11.409
I see the preservation
of wilderness
01:30:11.410 --> 01:30:15.449
as one sector of the front in
the war against the encroaching
01:30:15.450 --> 01:30:17.939
industrial state.
01:30:17.940 --> 01:30:20.239
Every square mile
of range and desert
01:30:20.240 --> 01:30:24.089
saved from the strip miners,
every river saved from the dam
01:30:24.090 --> 01:30:28.829
builders, every forest saved
from the loggers, every swamp
01:30:28.830 --> 01:30:33.899
saved from the land speculators
means another square mile saved
01:30:33.900 --> 01:30:37.279
for the play of human freedom.
01:30:37.280 --> 01:30:41.344
We must bring a halt to
the ever-expanding economy,
01:30:41.345 --> 01:30:44.808
and put the growth maniacs
under medical care.
01:30:48.294 --> 01:30:51.536
(MUSIC - TR RICHIE, \"CACTUS ED\")
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 93 minutes
Date: 2015
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 10 - 12, College Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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