Friday, March 14, 2008

Regarding the March 9 article "Arson at 'Green' Homes Points to Environmental Divisions," about fires this month in Washington state:

Arson is a crime. It is a miracle that no one was hurt or killed.

The group whose name was on a banner left at the scene, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), has been classified as a domestic terrorist entity by the FBI. The group has caused more than $110 million in property damage over the past 25 years.

Environmental debates have their place in legitimate public discourse conducted in appropriate forums. Covering this tragedy as if it is part of such a debate threatens to legitimize those responsible as environmental activists when they are rightly described as dangerously misguided criminals who belong in jail.

SANDY DUNN

President

National Association of Home Builders

Washington