Jump to content

Greenpeace: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Removed vandalism
Tag: section blanking
Replaced content with '{'
Line 1: Line 1:
{
{{about|the international environmental organization}}
{{Infobox Non-profit
| Non-profit_name = Greenpeace
| Non-profit_logo = [[File:Greenpeace.svg|centre|200px]]
| Non-profit_type = [[Non-governmental organization]]
| founded_date = [[1971]]<br/>[[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]
| location = [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands]] (international)
| key_people = [[Kumi Naidoo]], Executive Director<br>Lalita Ramdas, Chairman
| area_served = [[World]]wide
| focus = [[Environmentalism]], [[peace]]
| method = [[Direct action]], [[lobbying]], [[research]], [[innovation]]
| revenue = [[Euro|€]]196,6 million ([[2008]])
| num_members = 2,86 [[million]]([[2008]])
| homepage = [http://www.greenpeace.org/ www.greenpeace.org] [http://www.greenpeace.mobi/ www.greenpeace.mobi]
}}
[[Image:Gp-esso.jpg|thumb|right|235px|Greenpeace protest against [[Esso]] / [[ExxonMobil]].]]

'''Greenpeace''' is a [[non-governmental organization|non-governmental]] [[environmentalism|environmental]] organization<ref name="UN">[http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/dpingo-directory.asp?RegID=--&CnID=all&AcID=0&kw=greenpeace&NGOID=550 United Nations, Department of Public Information, Non-Governmental Organizations]</ref> with offices in over 41 countries and headquarters in [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands]].<ref name="GPI world">[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/worldwide Greenpeace International: Greenpeace worldwide]</ref> Greenpeace states its goal as to "ensure the ability of the [[earth]] to nurture [[life]] in all its [[biodiversity|diversity]]".<ref name="GPI-FAQ">[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/faq/questions-about-greenpeace-in Greenpeace International FAQ: Questions about Greenpeace in general]</ref> Greenpeace uses [[direct action]], [[lobbying]] and [[research]] to achieve its goals. The global organization does not accept funding from governments, corporations or political parties, relying on 2.86 million individual supporters and foundation grants.<ref name="HBS">[http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5797.html Harvard Business School, HBS Cases: The Value of Environmental Activists]</ref><ref name="Annual report 2008">[http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/international-annualreport-2008.pdf Greenpeace, Annual Report 2008] (pdf)</ref>

Greenpeace evolved from the peace movement and anti-nuclear protests in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]] in the early 1970s.<ref name="Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.">[http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_archives/articles/2246-4.html Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.] by Rex Weyler Retrieved on December 1, 2009</ref> On September 15, 1971, the newly found [[Don't Make a Wave Committee]] sent a chartered ship, Phyllis Cormack, renamed ''Greenpeace'' for the protest, from Vancouver to oppose [[United States]] testing of [[nuclear weapon|nuclear devices]] in [[Amchitka]], [[Alaska]], launching the first campaign of the organization and prompting the [[Don't Make a Wave Committee]] to adopt the name Greenpeace.<ref name="odysseu">Robert Hunter: Greenpeace to Amchitka, An Environmental Odyssey</ref> In a few years Greenpeace spread to several countries and started to campaign on other environmental issues such as [[commercial whaling]] and [[toxic waste]]. In the late 1970s the different regional Greenpeace groups formed Greenpeace International to oversee the goals and operations of the regional organizations globally.<ref name="Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace."/> Greenpeace received international attention during the 80's when the [[DGSE|French intelligence agency]] [[Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior|bombed]] the [[Rainbow Warrior (1955)|flagship]] of Greenpeace, killing one.<ref>{{cite news | last=| title=Rainbow Warrior ringleader heads firm selling arms to US government | date=2007-05-25 |accessdate=2010-01-21 | publisher=The Guardian | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/may/25/usnews.france | location=London | first=Suzanne | last=Goldenberg}}</ref> In the following years Greenpeace evolved into one of the largest environmental organizations in the world.<ref>Luke Cole & Sheila Foster: From the ground up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement (2000)</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=| last=| title=And the biggest NGO in Bali? | date=2010-01-07 |accessdate=2007-12-10| publisher=New Statesman | url=http://www.newstatesman.com/global-issues/2007/12/bali-climate-change-emissions}}</ref>

Today Greenpeace focuses on world wide issues such as [[global warming]], [[deforestation]], [[overfishing]], [[whaling|commercial whaling]] and [[nuclear power]]. Greenpeace is known for its [[direct action]]s<ref name="law journal">[http://www1.law.nyu.edu/journals/envtllaw/issues/vol7/2/v7na2.pdf Chiara Ciorgetti - From Rio to Kyoto: A Study of the Involvement of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Negotiations on Climate Change] ''N.Y.U. Environmental Law Journal, Volume 7, Issue 2''</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=| last=| title=Another summit, another Greenpeace gatecrasher
| date=2009-12-17 |accessdate=2010-01-11| publisher=AFP | url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iippL2GTtpdF2VS5hLwXUMZfa-lQ}}</ref> and has been described as the most visible environmental organization in the world.<ref name="GP study">[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4339/is_2000_Annual/ai_63543389/ Henry Mintzberg & Frances Westley - Sustaining the Institutional Environment ]''BNET.com''</ref><ref name="cbc">[http://history.cbc.ca/history/?MIval=EpisContent.html&lang=E&series_id=1&episode_id=16&chapter_id=2&page_id=2 Canada: A People's History - Greenpeace] ''CBC''</ref> Campaigns of Greenpeace have raised environmental issues to public knowledge<ref>[http://www.eubusiness.com/Environ/060928113427.bss6s23k EU commissioner hails blockade on waste ship]''EUbusiness'', 28 September 2006</ref><ref>Marc Mormont & Christine Dasnoy; Source strategies and the mediatization of climate change. ''Media, Culture & Society, Vol. 17, No. 1, 49-64 (1995)''</ref><ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/dumped-in-africa-britain8217s-toxic-waste-1624869.html The Independent Wednesday, 18 February 2009: Dumped in Africa: Britain’s toxic waste]</ref> and influenced both the private and the public sector<ref name="UNEP: Our Planet: Celebrating 20 Years of Montreal Protocol">http://www.unep.org/PDF/OurPlanet/2007/sept/EN/ARTICLE8.pdf UNEP: Our Planet: Celebrating 20 Years of Montreal Protocol</ref><ref name="Adidas, Clarks, Nike and Timberland agree moratorium on illegal Amazon leather">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/5970141/Adidas-Clarks-Nike-and-Timberland-agree-moratorium-on-illegal-Amazon-leather.html Adidas, Clarks, Nike and Timberland agree moratorium on illegal Amazon leather]''Telegraph'', 04 Aug 2009</ref> but Greenpeace has also been a source of controversy<ref name="autonomy">[http://www.globalautonomy.ca/global1/glossary_entry.jsp?id=OR.0053 Paul Huebener: Greenpeace, ''Globalization and Autonomy Online Compendium'']</ref>. Its motives and methods have received criticism<ref name="moore" /><ref>[http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Home/29C5599A-FCD8-4E30-9AD5-5497999ABA1B.html Top Secret: Greenpeace Report Misleading and Incompetent]</ref> and the organization's [[direct action]]s have sparked legal actions against Greenpeace [[activist]]s.<ref>{{cite news | first=| last=| title=Greenpeace activists arrested for gatecrashing royal gala dinner in Copenhagen released from jail | date=2010-01-07 |accessdate=2010-01-11| publisher=The Daily Mail |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1241244/Greenpeace-activists-arrested-gatecrashing-royal-gala-dinner-Copenhagen-released-jail.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=| last=| title=Greenpeace members charged in Mount Rushmore G-8 protest | date=2010-01-07 |accessdate=2009-07-08| publisher=CNN.com | url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/08/south.dakota.protest/index.html}}</ref>

==History==
===Origins===
{{See also|Don't Make A Wave Committee}}
In the late 1960s, the U.S had plans for an underground [[nuclear weapon test]] in the tectonically unstable island of [[Amchitka]] at [[Alaska]]. Because of the [[1964 Alaska earthquake]] the plans raised some concerns of the test triggering earthquakes and causing a [[tsunami]]. Anti-nuclear activists protested against the test on the border of U.S. and Canada with signs reading "Don't Make A Wave. It's Your Fault If Our Fault Goes". The protests did not stop the US from detonating the bomb.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story">Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story, ISBN 0-86318-691-2</ref>

[[File:IrvingStowe.jpg|right|150px|thumb|[[Irving Stowe]], a [[peace activist]] and a [[Quaker]] was one of the founders of Greenpeace.]]While no earthquake nor tsunami followed the test, the opposition grew when the U.S. announced they would detonate a bomb five times more powerful than the first one. Among the opposers were [[Jim Bohlen]], a veteran who had served the U.S. Navy during the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] and [[Irving Stowe|Irving]] and Dorothy Stowe, a [[Quaker]] couple. As members of the [[Sierra Club]] they were frustrated in the lack of action by the organization.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> From Irving Stowe, Jim Bohlen learned of form of passive resistance, "bearing witness", where objectionable activity is protested simply by mere presence.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> Jim Bohlen's wife Marie came up with the idea to sail to Amchitka, inspired by the anti-nuclear voyages of [[Albert Bigelow]] in 1958. The idea ended up in the press and was linked to The Sierra Club.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> The Sierra Club did not like this connection and in 1970 The ''[[Don't Make a Wave Committee]]'' was established for the protest. Early meetings were held in the Shaughnessy home of [[Robert Hunter (journalist)|Robert]] and Bobbi Hunter. The first office was opened in a back-room, storefront off Broadway on Cypress in Kitsilano, (Vancouver).<ref>Greenpeace to Amchitka, An Environmental Odyssey by Robert Hunter.</ref>

There is some debate as to who are the actual founders of The Don't Make a Wave Committee. Researcher Vanessa Timmer has referred the early members as ''"an unlikely group of loosely organized protestors"''.<ref name="Timmer"/> According to the Greenpeace web page the founders were Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe, and Robert Hunter. The book ''The Greenpeace Story'' states that the founders were Irving Stowe, Jim Bohlen and Paul Cote, a law student and peace activist.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> An interview with Dorothy Stowe, Dorothy Metcalfe, Jim Bohlen and Robert Hunter identifies the founders as Paul Cote, Irving and Dorothy Stowe and Jim and Marie Bohlen.<ref>[http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/vrml/rw/text/def/founders.html Interview by Michael Friedrich: Greenpeace Founders]</ref> [[Paul Watson]], who also participated in the anti-nuclear protests, maintains that he also was one of the founders.<ref>[http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/paul-watson-and-greenpeace.html Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: Greenpeace Attempts to Make Captain Paul Watson "Disappear"]</ref> Another early member, [[Patrick Moore (environmentalist)|Patrick Moore]] has also stated being one of the founders,<ref>[http://www.greenspirit.com/about.cfm?a=3 Greenpsirit: Who is Patrick Moore?]</ref> but this claim is contradicted by an early apply letter from Moore to The Don't Make a Wave Committee.<ref>[http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/assets/binaries/patrick-moore-s-application-le Patrick Moore's application letter and Greenpeace's reply (PDF)]</ref>

Don't Make a Wave Committee chartered a ship, [[Phyllis Cormack]] owned and sailed by John Cormack. The ship was renamed Greenpeace for the protest after a term coined by activist Bill Darnell.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> In the fall of 1971 the ship sailed towards Amchitka and faced the U.S. navy ship Confidence.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> Even though the crew of the Confidence personally supported the cause of Greenpeace the activists were forced to turn back. Because of this and the increasingly bad weather the crew decided to return to Canada only to find out that the news about their journey and the support from the crew of the Confidence had generated widespread compassion for their protest.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> After this Greenpeace tried to navigate to the test site with other vessels, until the U.S. detonated the bomb.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> The nuclear test gained widespread criticism and the U.S. decided not to continue with their test plans at Amchitka. In 1972, The Don't Make a Wave committee changed their official name to ''Greenpeace Foundation''.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> While the organisation was founded under a different name in 1970 and was officially named Greenpeace in 1972, the organisation itself dates its birth to the first protest of 1971.<ref name="The History of Greenpeace">[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/history Greenpeace International: The History of Greenpeace]</ref> Greenpeace also states that ''"there was no single founder, and the name, idea, spirit, tactics, and internationalism of the organisation all can be said to have separate lineages"''.<ref name="Greenpeace: founders">[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/history/founders Greenpeace Official page: The Founders]</ref>

===First campaigns after Amchitka===
After the nuclear tests at Amchitka were over, Greenpeace moved its focus to the French atmospheric [[nuclear weapons testing]] at the [[Moruroa|Moruroa Atoll]] in [[French Polynesia]]. The young organization needed help for their protests and were contacted by [[David McTaggart]], a former businessman living in New Zealand. In 1972 the yacht Vega, a {{convert|12.5|m|ft|adj=on}} ketch owned by [[David McTaggart]], was renamed Greenpeace III and sailed in an anti-nuclear protest into the exclusion zone at [[Moruroa]] to attempt to disrupt French nuclear testing. This voyage was sponsored and organized by the [[New Zealand]] branch of the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]].<ref>Making Waves the Greenpeace New Zealand Story by Michael Szabo ISBN</ref> The French Navy tried to stop the protest in several ways, including assaulting David McTaggart. After the assault came in to publicity, France announced it would stop the atmospheric nuclear tests.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/>

In the mid 1970's some Greenpeace members started an independent campaign, Project Ahab against commercial [[whaling]], since Irving Stowe was against Greenpeace focusing on other issues than nuclear weapons. After Irving Stowe died in 1975, Phyllis Cormack left from [[Vancouver]] to face Soviet whalers in the coast of [[California]]. Greenpeace activists disrupted the whaling by going between the harpoons and the whales and the footage of the protests spread across the world. Later in the 1970s the organization widened their focus to [[toxic waste]] and commercial [[seal hunting]].<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/>

===Organizational development===
[[File:Greenpeace exhibit for Nuclear Free NZ, at Nambassa Festival 1978.jpg|right|220px|thumb|'Greenpeace' exhibit for Nuclear Free NZ, at [[Nambassa]] Festival 1978, [[New Zealand]]]]
Greenpeace evolved into a less conservative and structured collective of environmentalists who were more reflective of the [[counterculture]] and [[hippie]] youth movements of the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>[http://rexweyler.com/greenpeace/ Rex Weyler, Greenpeace an insiders account]</ref> The social and cultural background from which Greenpeace emerged heralded a period of de-conditioning away from old world antecedents and sought to develop new codes of social, environmental and political behavior.<ref name="odysseu"/><ref>[http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2005/2005-05-02-05.asp]| Greenpeace founder Bob Hunter</ref> Historian Frank Zelko has commented that "unlike [[Friends of the Earth]], for example, which sprung fully formed from the forehead of David Brower, Greenpeace developed in a more evolutionary manner."<ref name="Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.">[http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_archives/articles/2246-4.html Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.] by Rex Weyler p.19. Retrieved on December 1, 2009</ref>

In the mid 1970's independent groups using the name Greenpeace started springing up world wide. By 1977 there were 15 to 20 Greenpeace groups around the world.<ref name="Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.">[http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_archives/articles/2246-4.html Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.] by Rex Weyler p.14. Retrieved on December 1, 2009</ref> At the same time the Canadian Greenpeace office was heavily in debt. Disputes between offices over fund-raising and organizational direction split the global movement as the North American offices were reluctant to be under the authority of the Vancouver office and its president [[Patrick Moore (environmentalist)|Patrick Moore]].<ref name="Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.">[http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_archives/articles/2246-4.html Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace.] by Rex Weyler p.15. Retrieved on December 1, 2009</ref>

After the incidents of Moruroa, David McTaggart had moved to France to battle in court with the French state and helped to develop the cooperation of European Greenpeace groups.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story"/> [[David McTaggart]] lobbied the Canadian Greenpeace Foundation to accept a new structure which would bring the scattered Greenpeace offices under the auspices of a single global organization. The European Greenpeace paid the debt of the Canadian Greenpeace office and on October 14, 1979, '''Greenpeace International''' came into existence.<ref name="Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace."/><ref name="Timmer">[http://www.ires.ubc.ca/sites/ires/files/about/publications/documents/VanessaTimmerPhDThesis.pdfVanessa Timmer; Agility and Resilience: The Adaptive Capacity of Friends of the Earth International and Greenpeace, University of British Columbia, 2007]</ref> Under the new structure, the local offices would contribute a percentage of their income to the international organization, which would take responsibility for setting the overall direction of the movement with each regional office having one vote.<ref name="Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace."/> Some Greenpeace groups, namely [[London Greenpeace]] and the US based [[Greenpeace Foundation]] however decided to remain independent from Greenpeace International.<ref>[http://www.mcspotlight.org/people/biogs/london_grnpeace.html McSpotlight: London Greenpeace - A History of Peace, Protest and Campaigning]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.greenpeacefoundation.org/about/gpMovement.cfm Greenpeace Foundation: About the Greenpeace Foundation]</ref>

==Organization==
===Governance===
[[Image:Greenpeace worldwide.svg|thumb|300px|right|Greenpeace's regional and national offices.]]
Greenpeace consists of ''Greenpeace International'' (officially Stichting Greenpeace Council) based in [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands]], and 28 regional offices operating in 45 countries.<ref name="organization">[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/how-is-greenpeace-structured Greenpeace, organization]</ref> The regional offices work largely autonomously under the supervision of Greenpeace International. The executive director of Greenpeace is elected by the board members of Greenpeace international. The current director of Greenpeace International is [[Kumi Naidoo]] and the current Chair of the Board is held by Lalita Ramdas.<ref name="executive director">http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/how-is-greenpeace-structured/management/executive-director Greenpeace International, Executive Director</ref><ref name="Board">http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/how-is-greenpeace-structured/governance-structure/board Greenpeace International, Board of Directors</ref>

Each regional office is led by a regional executive director elected by the regional board of directors. The regional boards also appoint a representative to The Greenpeace International ''Annual general meeting'', where the representatives elect or remove the board of directors of Greenpeace International. The role of the annual general meeting is also to discuss and decide the overall principles and strategically important issues for Greenpeace in collaboration with the representatives of regional offices and Greenpeace International board of directors.<ref name="governance">[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/how-is-greenpeace-structured/governance-structure]</ref>

===Funding===

Greenpeace receives its funding from individual supporters and trusts. The organisation does not accept money from governments or corporations in order to avoid their influence.<ref name="GPI-FAQ"/><ref name="HBS"/> Greenpeace was the first organization to use [[Street fundraiser|face-to-face fundraising]] in order reach new supporters since in the mid 1990's the number of older supporters started to decrease.<ref>http://www.sofii.org/active%20site/Members%20area/FF171GPIF2F.html</ref><ref>''Relationship Fundraising: A Donor-based Approach to the Business of Raising Money'', Ken Burnett, The White Lion Press Limited, 2002</ref> In 2008, most of the €202.5 million received by the organization was donated by about 2.6 million regular supporters, mainly from Europe.<ref name="Annual report 2008"/>

In September 2003, the [[Public Interest Watch]] (PIW) complained to the [[Internal Revenue Service]], claiming that Greenpeace USA tax returns were inaccurate and in violation of the law.<ref>http://www.publicinterestwatch.org/pdfs/PIW_report.pdf</ref> PIW charged that Greenpeace was using non-profit donations for advocacy instead of charity and educational purposes. PIW asked the IRS to investigate the complaint. Greenpeace rejected the accusations and challenged PIW to disclose its funders, a request rejected by then-Executive Director of PIW, Mike Hardiman, because PIW does not have [[501c3]] tax exempt status like Greenpeace does in the U.S.<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200309\NAT20030923b.html</ref> The IRS conducted an extensive review and concluded in December 2005 that Greenpeace USA continued to qualify for its tax-exempt status. In March 2006 ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that PIW had been funded by [[ExxonMobil]] prior to PIW's request to investigate Greenpeace [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB114291044305003774-lMyQjAxMDE2NDIyMTkyMTEwWj.html].

==Priorities and campaigns==
On its official website, Greenpeace defines its mission as the following:

{{quote|Greenpeace is an independent global [[Civil society campaign|campaigning]] organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote [[peace]] by:''
*Catalysing an energy revolution to address the number one threat facing [[Earth|our planet]]: [[climate change]].
*Defending our [[ocean]]s by challenging wasteful and destructive [[fishing]], and creating a global network of [[marine reserve]]s.
*Protecting the [[world]]’s remaining [[ancient forest]]s which are depended on by many animals, plants and people.
*Working for [[disarmament]] and peace by reducing dependence on finite resources and calling for the elimination of all [[nuclear weapons]].
*Creating a toxic free future with safer alternatives to hazardous [[chemicals]] in today's products and manufacturing.
*Campaigning for [[sustainable agriculture]] by encouraging socially and ecologically responsible farming practices.|Greenpeace International, [http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/our-mission Who we are]}}

===Climate===
Greenpeace considers [[global warming]] to be the greatest environmental problem facing the Earth.<ref>Greenpeace: Who we are, http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/our-mission</ref> Greenpeace calls for global emissions to peak in 2015 and to decrease as close to zero as possible by 2050. Greenpeace has taken part of the [[UN]] climate negotiations since 1989<ref>Greenpeace: "http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/pdfs/climate/Greenpeace-heathrow-consultation-response.pdf Greenpeace response to the Department for Transport’s consultation
'Adding capacity at Heathrow Airport'" February 2008</ref> and since 1990 called for [[greenhouse gas]] emission reductions via methods such as [[energy efficiency]], [[renewable energy]] and stopping [[deforestation]].<ref>Global warming: The Greenpeace report: editor Jeremy Leggett, Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York, 1990</ref> Greenpeace was one of the first<ref>IPCC, Climate Change 2007: Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/ch3-ens3-1-2.html</ref> to formulate a scenario for climate change mitigation and according to sociologists Marc Mormont and Christine Dasnoy Greenpeace has played a significant role in raising public awareness of global warming.<ref>Marc Mormont & Christine Dasnoy; Source strategies and the mediatization of climate change. Media, Culture & Society, Vol. 17, No. 1, 49-64 (1995)</ref>
The organization has also focused on [[Chlorofluorocarbon|CFC]]s, both because of their global warming potential and effect on the ozone layer. In the early 1990s, Greenpeace developed a CFC-free refrigerator for mass production together with the refrigerator industry.<ref name="UNEP: Our Planet: Celebrating 20 Years of Montreal Protocol"/> United Nations Environment Programme awarded Greenpeace for "outstanding contributions to the protection of the Earth's ozone layer" in 1997.<ref>http://ozone.unep.org/Events/4C1_PublicInfo_Awards97.shtml UNEP: The 1997 Ozone Awards</ref>

Greenpeace currently demands that the industrialized countries should cut their emissions at least 40% by 2020 (from 1990 levels) and give substantial funding for developing countries to build a sustainable energy capacity, to adapt to the inevitable consequences of global warming and to stop deforestation by 2020.<ref>Greenpeace: "http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/greenpeace-climate-vision.pdf Greenpeace Climate Vision" May 2009</ref> The most recent global warming mitigation suggestions from Greenpeace include a full legal text for a suggested international binding treaty on climate change mitigation, drafted together with other NGOs such as [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] and [[David Suzuki Foundation]].<ref>James Kanter"http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/green-groups-offer-a-mock-climate-treaty/ Green Groups Offer a Mock Climate Treaty" The New York Times, June 9, 2009</ref> Other mitigation scenarios from Greenpeace include a joint report with [[EREC]]: ''The Energy [R]evolution'', which lays a roadmap for cutting GHG emissions from the energy sector with energy efficiency and renewable energy.<ref>Greenpeace & EREC: "http://www.energyblueprint.info/fileadmin/media/documents/energy_revolution2009.pdf Energy [R]evolution, A Sustainable Global Energy Outlook"</ref>

Using direct action, Greenpeace has protested several times against coal by occupying coal power plants and blocking coal shipments and mining operations in places such as [[New Zealand]],<ref>{{cite news | title=Climate activists shut down coal mine in protest against Fonterra | date=2009-11-23 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=Stock & Land | url=http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/state/dairy/general/climate-activists-shut-down-coal-mine-in-protest-against-fonterra/1685027.aspx?storypage=1}}</ref> [[Svalbard]],<ref>{{cite news | title=Greenpeace blocks Arctic coal mine in Svalbard | date=2009-10-02 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=Thomson Reuters | url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL222480620091002 }}</ref> [[Australia]],<ref>{{cite news | title=BHP Coal Berth Blocked by Greenpeace Ship as Protest Continues | date=2009-08-06 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=Bloomberg | url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=agG5tRhlvbRM}}</ref> and [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Greenpeace protestors scale tower in protest at 'Blair's legacy of fumes' | date=2006-11-02 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=Daily Mail | url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-414177/Greenpeace-protestors-scale-tower-protest-Blairs-legacy-fumes.html}}</ref> Greenpeace is also critical towards extracting petroleum from [[oil sands]] and has used direct action to block the oil sand operations at [[Athabasca Oil Sands|Athabasca]], [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite news | first=| last=| title=Greenpeace activists block giant tar sands mining operation - Message to Obama and Harper: Climate leaders don't buy tar sands
| date=2009-11-15 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=CNW Group|url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2009/15/c5380.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=| last=| title=Greenpeace blocks 2nd Canada oil sands operation| date=2009-10-01 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=Thomson Reuters|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE58T4ZB20091001}}</ref>

====The Kingsnorth Court Case====

In October 2007, six Greenpeace protesters were arrested for breaking in to the [[Kingsnorth power station]], climbing the 200 meter smokestack, painting the name [[Gordon Brown|Gordon]] on the chimney and causing an estimated £30,000 damage. At their subsequent trial they admitted trying to shut the station down but argued that they were legally justified because they were trying to prevent climate change from causing greater damage to property elsewhere around the world. Evidence was heard from [[David Cameron]]'s environment adviser [[Zac Goldsmith]], climate scientist [[James E. Hansen]] and an [[Inuit]] leader from Greenland, all saying that climate change was already seriously affecting life around the world. The six activists were acquitted after arguing that they were legally justified in their actions to prevent climate change from causing greater damage to property around the world. It was the first case where preventing property damage caused by climate change has been used as part of a "lawful excuse" defence in court.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/10/activists.carbonemissions|title=Kingsnorth trial: Coal protesters cleared of criminal damage to chimney|date=2008-10-06|accessdate=2010-01-04|publisher=The Guardian | location=London | first=John | last=Vidal}}</ref>

Both [[The Daily Telegraph]] and [[The Guardian]] described the acquittal as embarrassment to the [[Brown Ministry]].<ref>{{cite news | last=| title=Greenpeace Kingsnorth trial collapse is embarrassing for Gordon Brown
| date=2008-09-11 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=The Daily Telegraph|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthcomment/charlesclover/3351572/Greenpeace-Kingsnorth-trial-collapse-is-embarrassing-for-Gordon-Brown.html | location=London | first=Charles | last=Clover}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=| title=Not guilty: the Greenpeace activists who used climate change as a legal defence
| date=2008-09-11 |accessdate=2010-01-04| publisher=The Guardian|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/11/activists.kingsnorthclimatecamp | location=London | first=John | last=Vidal}}</ref> In December 2008 ''[[The New York Times]]'' listed the acquittal in its annual list of the most influential ideas of the year.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/magazine/14Ideas-Section2-A-t-004.html?_r=1|title=8th annual year in ideas - Climate-Change Defense|work=New York Times | first=Jonathan | last=Mingle | date=2008-12-14 | accessdate=2010-04-02}}</ref>

===Nuclear Power===
Greenpeace views the risks of [[nuclear power]] as too problematic for the environment compared to the benefits of nuclear power. The organization argues that the potential of nuclear power to [[Mitigation of global warming|mitigate global warming]] is marginal, referring to the [[International Energy Agency|IEA]] energy scenario where a fourfold increase in world nuclear capacity by 2050 would cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 4%. According to Greenpeace the slow construction times, construction delays and hidden costs also limit the mitigation potential of nuclear power. Greenpeace views the construction of [[European Pressurized Reactor#Olkiluoto 3 pilot power plant|Olkiluoto 3]] nuclear power plant in [[Finland]] as an example of the problems on building new nuclear power.<ref name="waste of time">[http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/nuclear-power-a-dangerous-was.pdf Greenpeace International: 'Nuclear Power: a dangerous waste of time']</ref>

==Ships==
{{sources|date=January 2010}}
Since Greenpeace was founded, seagoing ships have played a vital role in its campaigns. Once the [[Rainbow Warrior (2011)|''Rainbow Warrior III'']] is completed (expected in 2011), the group will have six ocean-going ships, as big a fleet as some island nation's navies.<ref name="COMM">''[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10620814 Greenpeace commissions third Warrior]'' - ''[[The New Zealand Herald]]''</ref>

=== The First Rainbow Warrior ===
In 1978, Greenpeace launched the original ''[[Rainbow Warrior (1955)|Rainbow Warrior]]'', a {{convert|40|m|ft|adj=on}}, former fishing [[Commercial trawler|trawler]] named for the [[Cree]] legend that inspired early activist [[Robert Hunter (journalist)|Robert Hunter]] on the first voyage to Amchitka. Greenpeace purchased the Rainbow Warrior (originally launched as the ''Sir William Hardy'' in 1955) at a cost of £40,000. Volunteers restored and refitted it over a period of four months. First deployed to disrupt the hunt of the [[Iceland]]ic whaling fleet, the Rainbow Warrior would quickly become a mainstay of Greenpeace campaigns. Between 1978 and 1985, crew members also engaged in direct action against the ocean-dumping of toxic and radioactive waste, the [[Grey Seal]] hunt in [[Orkney]] and nuclear testing in the Pacific. Japan's Fisheries Agency has labeled Greenpeace ships as "[[anti-whaling]] vessels" and "[[Ecoterrorism|environmental terrorists]]".<ref>[http://archive.greenpeace.org/pressreleases/oceans/2001dec14.html Greenpeace Rejects Terrorism Label, 14 December 2001]</ref> In May 1985, the vessel was instrumental for 'Operation Exodus', the evacuation of about 300 [[Rongelap Atoll]] islanders whose home had been contaminated with nuclear fallout from a US nuclear test two decades ago which had never been cleaned up and was still having severe health effects on the locals.<ref name="GREEN">[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/history/mejato.htm The evacuation of Rongelap] (from the Greenpeace website. Accessed 2009-11-07.)</ref>

{{See also|Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior}}

Later in 1985 the Rainbow Warrior was to lead a flotilla of protest vessels into the waters surrounding [[Moruroa]] atoll, site of French nuclear testing. The [[sinking of the Rainbow Warrior]] occurred when the [[French government]] secretly bombed the ship in [[Auckland]] harbour on orders from [[François Mitterrand]] himself. This killed Dutch freelance photographer [[Fernando Pereira]], who thought it was safe to enter the boat to get his photographic material after a first small explosion, but drowned as a result of a second, larger explosion. The attack was a public relations disaster for France after it was quickly exposed by the New Zealand police. The French Government in 1987 agreed to pay New Zealand compensation of NZ$13 million and formally apologised for the bombing. The French Government also paid [[French franc|₣]]2.3 million compensation to the family of the photographer.

=== The Second Rainbow Warrior ===
[[Image:Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Greenpeace's second [[Rainbow Warrior (1989)|Rainbow Warrior]] ship arrives in [[Bali]] for the [[2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference|2007 UN climate conference]].]]
In 1989 Greenpeace commissioned a replacement vessel, also named the [[Rainbow Warrior (1989)|Rainbow Warrior]] (also referred as ''Rainbow Warrior II''), which remains in service today as the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet. In 2005 the Rainbow Warrior II ran aground on and damaged the [[Tubbataha Reef]] in the Philippines while inspecting the reef for [[coral bleaching]]. Greenpeace was fined $7,000 USD for damaging the reef and agreed to pay the fine saying they felt responsible for the damage, although Greenpeace stated that the Philippines government had given it outdated charts. The park manager of Tubbatha appreciated the quick action Greenpeace took to assess the damage to the reef.<ref>[[BBC News]]. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4395572.stm Greenpeace fined for reef damage]. 1 November 2005.</ref>

=== Other vessels ===

[[Image:AS helsinki.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Greenpeace's ship [[MV Arctic Sunrise]] in the harbour of [[Helsinki]].]] Along with the Rainbow Warriors, Greenpeace has had several other ships in its service: [[MV Sirius|MV ''Sirius'']], [[MV Greenpeace|MV ''Greenpeace'']], [[MV Arctic Sunrise|MV ''Arctic Sunrise'']] and [[MV Esperanza|MV ''Esperanza'']], the last two being in service today.

In June 2006, the Arctic Sunrise was banned from attending the 58th [[International Whaling Commission]] meeting in [[St. Kitts]] by the St. Kitts and Nevis Government citing national security concerns.<ref>Sun St. Kitts. [http://sunstkitts.com/paper/?asknw=view&asknw=view,view&sun=494418078207132005&an=332949099606152006&ac=Local St. Kitts/Nevis bars Greenpeace ship]. June 15, 2006.</ref> Greenpeace's protests were discussed at the same IWC meeting with agenda item IWC/58/3, relating to their protest actions against Japanese whaling in the Southern ocean in December 2005 / January 2006, during which a collision occurred between a Japanese whaling ship and a Greenpeace ship, resulting in this resolution from the IWC.<ref>Resolution 2006-2. [http://www.iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/IWC58docs/Resolution%202006-2.pdf RESOLUTION ON THE SAFETY OF VESSELS ENGAGED IN WHALING AND WHALE RESEARCH-RELATED ACTIVITIES]<br /> Videos of the main incident can be seen here:<br />[http://www.icrwhale.org/eng/GPAS1.mpg Video 1]<br />[http://www.icrwhale.org/eng/GPAS2.mpg Video 2 (man speaking on microphone and ship tooting)]</ref><ref name="oceans">Greenpeace (Oceans). 08 January 2006.[http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/the-expedition/news/whalers-ram-ship-111 Whalers ram Greenpeace ship].</ref>

==Criticism==
{{main|Criticism of Greenpeace}}

Early Greenpeace member Canadian Ecologist [[Patrick Moore (environmentalist)|Patrick Moore]] left the organization in 1986 when it, according to Moore, decided to support a universal ban on [[chlorine]] in drinking water.<ref name="moore">{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120882720657033391.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries|title=Why I Left Greenpeace|first=Patrick|last=Moore|date=2008-04-22|accessdate=2008-04-22|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> Moore has argued that Greenpeace today is motivated by politics rather than science and that none of his "fellow directors had any formal science education"<ref name="moore" /> but according to Brian Cox, Director of Greenpeace Canada, Greenpeace has never demanded a universal chlorine ban and that Greenpeace does not oppose use of chlorine in drinking water or in pharmaceutical uses, adding that "Mr. Moore is alone in his recollection of a fight over chlorine and/or use of science as his reason for leaving Greenpeace."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/05/20/bruce-cox-defends-greenpeace-and-takes-on-patrick-moore.aspx|title=Bruce Cox defends Greenpeace (and takes on Patrick Moore)|first=Bruce|last=Cox|date=2008-05-20|accessdate=2010-01-04|work=[[National Post]]}}</ref> [[Paul Watson]], an early member of Greenpeace has said that Moore "uses his status as a so-called co-founder of Greenpeace to give credibility to his accusations. I am also a co-founder of Greenpeace and I have known Patrick Moore for 35 years.[...] Moore makes accusations that have no basis in fact".<ref name=examiner>{{cite news | first=Paul| last=Watson| title=Solutions instead of sensationalism | date=July 31, 2005 | publisher=The San Francisco Examiner | url=http://www.seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_050801_2.html }}</ref>

A French journalist under the pen name Olivier Vermont wrote in his book ''La Face cachée de Greenpeace'' that he had joined Greenpeace France and had worked there as a secretary. According to Vermont he found misconducts and continued to Amsterdam to the international office. Vermont said he found classified documents<ref>{{Citation|title=La Face cachée de Greenpeace |author=Olivier Vermont |pages=337 |editor=Albin Michel |year= 1997 |language=French |ISBN=978-2226087751}}</ref> according to which half of the organization's € 180 millon revenue was used for the organization's salaries and structure. He also accused Greenpeace of having unofficial agreements with polluting companies where the companies paid Greenpeace to keep them from attacking the company's image.<ref>[http://www.agoravox.fr/actualites/environnement/article/developpement-durable-le-concept-65585 Développement durable : le concept dévoyé qui ne doit plus durer !], from the Autor of "La Servitude Climatique".</ref> Animal protection magazine Animal People reported in March 1997 that Greenpeace France and Greenpeace International had sued Olivier Vermont and his publisher Albin Michel for issuing “defamatory statements, untruths, distortions of the facts and absurd allegations”.<ref>http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/97/2/watchdog.html Animal People, March 1997</ref>

==See also==
* [[European Renewable Energy Council]]
* [[Fund for Wild Nature]]
* [[Civil disobedience]]
* [[World Wide Fund for Nature]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* David McTaggart with Robert Hunter, ''Greenpeace III: Journey into the Bomb'' (London: William Collins Sons & Co., 1978). ISBN 0 211885 8
* Robert Hunter, ''Warriors of the Rainbow: A Chronicle of the Greenpeace Movement'' (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979). ISBN 0-03-043736-9
* Michael King, ''Death of the Rainbow Warrior'' (Penguin Books, 1986). ISBN 0-14-009738-4
* [[John McCormick]], ''The Global Environmental Movement'' (John Wiley, 1995)
* David Robie, ''Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior'' (Philadelphia: New Society Press, 1987). ISBN 0-86571-114-3
* Michael Brown and John May, ''The Greenpeace Story'' (1989; London and New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 1991). ISBN 1-879431-02-5
* [[Rex Weyler]] (2004), ''Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists and Visionaries Changed the World'', Rodale
* Kieran Mulvaney and [[Mark Warford]] (1996):'' Witness: Twenty-Five Years on the Environmental Front Line,'' Andre Deutsch.

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [http://www.greenpeace.org/international/ Greenpeace International homepage]
* [http://www.greenpeace.mobi Greenpeace.mobi: Official Mobile homepage]
* [http://www.utne.com/web_special/web_specials_archives/articles/2246-1.html Waves of Compassion: The Founding of Greenpeace] by Rex Weyler
* [http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history/Ge-He/Greenpeace-International.html ReferenceForBusiness.com]

{{Greenpeace}}
{{Sustainability}}

[[Category:Greenpeace| ]]
[[Category:Sustainability organisations]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear weapons movement]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear power movement]]
[[Category:Civil disobedience]]
[[Category:Climate change organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1971]]
[[Category:MTV Europe Music Awards winners]]
[[Category:International nongovernmental organizations]]

[[ar:منظمة السلام الأخضر]]
[[ast:Greenpeace]]
[[zh-min-nan:Le̍k-sek Hô-pêng]]
[[br:Greenpeace]]
[[bg:Грийнпийс]]
[[ca:Greenpeace]]
[[cs:Greenpeace]]
[[da:Greenpeace]]
[[de:Greenpeace]]
[[et:Greenpeace]]
[[el:Greenpeace]]
[[es:Greenpeace]]
[[eo:Greenpeace]]
[[eu:Greenpeace]]
[[fr:Greenpeace]]
[[gl:Greenpeace]]
[[ko:그린피스]]
[[hi:ग्रीनपीस]]
[[hr:Greenpeace]]
[[id:Greenpeace]]
[[is:Greenpeace]]
[[it:Greenpeace]]
[[he:גרינפיס]]
[[ka:გრინპისი]]
[[kk:Greenpeace]]
[[ku:Greenpeace]]
[[lv:Greenpeace]]
[[lb:Greenpeace]]
[[lt:Greenpeace]]
[[hu:Greenpeace]]
[[mt:Greenpeace]]
[[nl:Greenpeace]]
[[ja:グリーンピース (NGO)]]
[[no:Greenpeace]]
[[pl:Greenpeace]]
[[pt:Greenpeace]]
[[ru:Гринпис]]
[[sq:Greenpeace]]
[[scn:Greenpeace]]
[[simple:Greenpeace]]
[[sk:Greenpeace]]
[[sl:Greenpeace]]
[[sr:Гринпис]]
[[fi:Greenpeace]]
[[sv:Greenpeace]]
[[th:กรีนพีซ]]
[[tr:Greenpeace]]
[[uk:Ґрінпіс]]
[[vi:Hòa bình xanh]]
[[zh:绿色和平]]

Revision as of 12:14, 6 April 2010

{