Transnational crime is an increasing national security threat to the United States and to individual citizens around the world. Criminal groups both in the United Staes and abroad operate crime cartels that span national boundaries, but in ways that affect all Americans, and wreak havoc on law enforcement organizations as well as businesses and other entities, such as the stock market. More often than not, transnational crime takes the form of organized crime, and in its many forms is responsible for over-priced goods, unsafe products, environmental hazards, corruption of public officials,...

Radical environmentalism and its progeny, eco-terrorism, is a modern phenomenon. It is a movement far removed from the elite conservationists of the late 1800s and the mainstream environmental groups that emerged later. Drawn from the same pool of concerned individuals who comprise memberships in groups like Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the Wilderness Society, disaffected environmentalists have turned from political lobbying to direct action in the form of widespread property destruction and other types of crime and terror. Here, the author exposes the activities of radical groups...

The alarming consequences of eco-crime go far beyond the widespread degradation of the natural world; important societal institutions are undermined and negative social and economic impacts also result from garbage trafficking, wildlife trafficking, illegal fishing, and illegal logging. In order to successfully combat these problems, a consistent, international response will be necessary.

"Crimes Against Nature: Illegal Industries and the Global Environment" addresses an important topic that is largely unknown and rarely documented other than in reports published by environmental NGOs...