Climate Campaigners Were On Terrorist List

For a 13-month stretch starting in March 2005, three environmentalists working for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network were listed in a Maryland State Police data base as being "suspected of involvement in terrorism." The description went on to note that the police had "no evidence whatsoever of any involvement in violent crime," and the listing, and possible tracking, did not continue. But the activists -- not surprisingly -- were not happy to hear about this when they received letters from the state police earlier this month informing them of the situation. [UPDATE: 3:30 p.m.: The climate group has been involved in civil disobedience, both before and since the law enforcement listing. But my guess is it would be hard to characterize such incidents as anything remotely resembling terrorism.] The American Civil Liberties Union is investigating the investigations.

On his blog, Mike Tidwell, the founder of the Chesapeake-area climate group and author of Bayou Farewell, decried the situation, saying his work hardly amounts to terrorism: "Since 2001, I have devoted my life entirely to the peaceful promotion of windmills and solar panels to solve global warming. Apparently not everyone liked my work, however."

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