After reading “Eco-Defense”, written by Edward Abbey, (348), it is obvious that some men and women are willing to do anything to protect the environment. The opening paragraph compares protecting the American wilderness to the same means a person would use to protect his or her family and property. He is insinuating that everyone should put their lives on the line to protect the wilderness. This is not accepted by the general public. A rational person would not allow themselves or anyone they care about to die for a resource that could be ultimately naturally replace over time. In the case of fossil fuels it would take many generations to replace, but it would happen. Nonviolent protest is a better way to handle big business. There are, however, the extremists that are driven to prove their point by putting themselves in danger and those who follow them. This is selfish and an irresponsible way of thinking. Many environmentalists blame the federal government for not protecting the wilderness in this country. The author of “Eco-Defense”, Edward Abbey, was born on January 29, 1927, and died March 14, 1989. Abbey was born in Pennsylvania and grew up moving around the east coast most of his child hood. He joined the army during World War 2, where he served two years and was promoted twice and demoted twice for refusing to salute an officer. (Croke) Edward Abbey is known for writing fiction, nonfiction and essays about the wilderness and protecting it. In “Eco-Defense” Abbey writes, “With bulldozer, earth mover, chainsaw and dynamite the international timber, mining, and beef industries are invading our public lands-property of all Americans-Bashing their way into our forests, mountains, and rangelands and looting them for everything they can get away with” (348). Here is appealing to the emotional side of the audience to get their feelings moving and thinking about the terrible business man destroying the wilderness for his or her own capital gain. Whether people believe it or not, the cars that are driven all around the world and the homes that people live in all come from nature and the wilderness. Someone is cutting down trees to build homes and another big business is mining somewhere in the world to be able to make the steel that the vehicles being driven can be manufactured. Abbey talks about sabotage in “Eco-Defense” (348) Eco-Defense classified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as terrorist crimes against society. In an interview by KAET-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, Abbey was asked what he thought about the sabotage being committed by the group EarthFirst, he responded, "Well I'm not going to advocate sabotage publicly on the federal airwaves here. But I think there probably will be more of it if the conflict between conservation and development becomes more intense, and if the politicians fail to follow the popular will on the matter. I think a lot of people are going to become very angry and they're going to resort to illegal methods to try to slow down the destruction of our national resources, our wilderness, our forests, mountains, deserts. What that will lead to I hate to think. If the conflict becomes violent and physical then I'm pretty sure the environmentalists will mostly end up in prison or shot dead in their tracks. So I hope we can save what's left of Arizona and th