Goodbye ecomafia

On December 18th, 2011, I let my domain name ecomafia.com expire. I first registered it twelve years ago. Even though it has expired, the registrar still has it pointing at this blog, which is where I've had it pointed since I discontinued my Website a year ago. I'll be curious to see if someone else decides it is worth buying for any reason, and when the forwarding will get turned off. Below is my slightly edited explanation of why I chose the name. This explanation used to be posted on the Website.

The idea of "Ecomafia" sprouted on the Negit Islands during summer 1999 CaliforniaGull research. I think it was Justin's idea, but
he, Nat, Santiago, and I enjoyed discussing it on a quiet evening in a fake volcano that had once been in a movie. The idea was for a gangster movie, but instead of using violence to get rich and protect their friends and family, these eco-gangsters would use violence to protect the planet. I figured it would be a memorable domain name. It is also the name of the novel I was writing...very slowly.

I first started thinking of and writing the book in September 1999. You are supposed to write about what you know, right? Well, I know about California geography, backcountry travel, and the constant push of development that is destroying California's natural heritage. But how do you make an exciting novel out of that?

It has already been done. Edward Abbey wrote "The Monkey Wrench Gang." If you've read this book, you know it is sometimes riveting, and you can't put it down when Hayduke is evading his pursuers in Canyonlands. My idea, basically, was to bring the Monkey Wrench Gang to California!

In California, there is a whole different landscape to run around in, and a whole different set of environmental villains and monkeywrenching targets. I decided it would be fun to write (great way to get my aggressions out about some things I'd love to blow up if I was a criminal), and hopefully fun to read.

Okay, now to address your concerns. No, it won't encourage monkeywrenching any more than murder mystery novels encourage murders. Yes, I'll change names to protect the guilty, in some cases. An example of an exception: Public agencies, for example, are almost a part of the landscape, and coming up with bogus names for the BLM or USFS would be just plain annoying. If I use them as a target (which I will), it isn't meant to reflect real situations, but fictional constructs consistent with the fictional plot, and isn't meant to reflect badly upon any agency. They can already make themselves look bad without my help.

So why the name Ecomafia? Well, I needed a title, and I was thinking of several possibilities when I remembered the ecomafia idea from the islands. It is catchy, and I thought of a way to incorporate the idea into the book and use it as the title. And in December 1999 I thought of it as a catchy domain name for my already existing Website.

I had the first six "chapters" posted on ecomafia.com and may repost them here under "Best of Beyond the Batholith--Essays from the Eastern Sierra" at some point, once I decide how to edit them for language suitable for all ages. I actually had a "hit list" posted briefly before I realized that was not a prudent thing to post on the Internet since there are a lot of crazies out there and I didn't want to give them any ideas. People always take me way too seriously--the source of many misunderstandings in life. I am no longer actively writing this book (I have too many other book ideas!), but it remains in the idea bank for my retirement or other suitable time.