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The '''Don't Make a Wave Committee''' was the name of the environmental peace organization which later evolved into [[Greenpeace]], a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]] to protest and attempt to halt further underground nuclear testing by the United States in the National Wildlife refuge at [[Amchitka]] in the Aleutian Islands of [[Alaska]].<ref name="my-fight_for_the_whales">Paul Watson, ''Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals'' (1981), ISBN 0-393-01499-1</ref> The Don't Make a Wave Committee was first formed in October 1969<ref name="AFP">{{cite web |url=http://www.oregonpeaceworks.org/site/index.php/www.tilthproducers.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1731 |title=Greenpeace Founder Bob Hunter Dies in Toronto |author=AFP |date=2005-06-07 |work= |publisher=Oregon PeaceWorks |accessdate=2010-01-30}}</ref> and officially established in early 1970.<ref name="GPI">{{cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/history/founders |title=The Founders of Greenpeace |publisher=Greenpeace |year= |accessdate=2010-01-30}}</ref><ref name="GPstory">{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Michael |last2=May |first2=John |title=The Greenpeace Story |publisher=Doeling Kindersley Limited, London |location=Italy |year=1991 |isbn=0-86318-692-2}}</ref>
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In the late 1960's, 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]]. A 1969 demonstration of 7,000 <ref>''Protests fail to stop Nuclear Test countdown'', The Free-Lance Star - Oct 2, 1969, Accessed via Google News Archive October 4, 2009.</ref> people blocked a major US-Canadian border crossing in British Columbia, carrying signs reading "Don't Make A Wave. It's Your Fault If Our Fault Goes". Further demonstrations occurred at U.S. border crossings in Ontario and Quebec.<ref>''Alaska is Braced for Atomic Shock'', St. Petersburg Times - Oct 2, 1969. Accessed via Google News Archive October 4, 2009. Has a subtitle - Demonstrators picket US Embassy in Ottawa.</ref>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>
The '''Don't Make a Wave Committee''' was formed in October 1969<ref>''[http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2005/2005-05-02-05.asp Greenpeace Founder Bob Hunter Dies in Toronto]'', Environmental News Service, May 2, 2005. Accessed October 4, 2009</ref> in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]] (Canada) to protest and attempt to halt underground nuclear testing by the United States in the National Wildlife refuge at [[Amchitka]] in the Aleutian Islands of [[Alaska]].<ref name="my-fight_for_the_whales">Paul Watson, ''Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals'' (1981), ISBN 0-393-01499-1</ref>


[[File:IrvingStowe.jpg|left|100px|thumb|[[Irving Stowe]], a [[peace activist]] and a [[quaker]] was one of the founders of Dont' Make a Wave Committee.]]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="GPstory"/> and in October 1969 they started started meeting at a church basement, calling themselves as the Don't Make a Wave Committee and planning anti-nuclear protests.<ref name="AFP"/> From Irving Stowe, Jim Bohlen learned of form of passive resistance, "bearing witness", where objectionable activity is protested simply by mere presence. 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. The Sierra Club did not like this connection and in 1970 Jim and Marie Bohlen, Irving and Dorothy Stowe and Paul Cote, a law student and peace activist established The ''Don't Make a Wave Committee'', working independently of The Sierra Club.<ref name="Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story">[Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story, ISBN 0-86318-691-2]</ref> 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>
⚫
The name of the committee was reputed to have come from a placard which said ''Don't Make a Wave. It's Your Fault if Our Fault Goes''. A 1969 demonstration of 7,000 <ref>''Protests fail to stop Nuclear Test countdown'', The Free-Lance Star - Oct 2, 1969, Accessed via Google News Archive October 4, 2009.</ref> people blocked a major US-Canadian border crossing in British Columbia, protesting that the tests might trigger a [[tidal wave]] similar to one generated by an earthquake in 1964 which struck the west coast of North America. Further demonstrations occurred at U.S. border crossings in Ontario and Quebec.<ref>''Alaska is Braced for Atomic Shock'', St. Petersburg Times - Oct 2, 1969. Accessed via Google News Archive October 4, 2009. Has a subtitle - Demonstrators picket US Embassy in Ottawa.</ref>


During meetings in 1970 [[Bill Darnell]] combined the words ‘green’ and ‘peace’,<ref name=green>Sean Connolly, ''Global Organizations: Greenpeace'', Franklin Watts, 2008, p. 12</ref> thereby giving the organization its first expedition name, [[Greenpeace]]. Many Canadians protested the [[United States military]] underground nuclear bomb tests, codenamed Cannikin, beneath the island of Amchitka, Alaska in 1971. The ''Don't Make a Wave Committee'' first expedition hired the ''Phyllis Cormack'', a halibut [[seiner]] available for charter, to take protestors to the testing zone on the island of Amchitka. The expedition was called ''Greenpeace I'', and included Canadian journalist [[Robert Hunter (journalist)|Robert Hunter]]. In the fall of 1971 the ship sailed towards Amchitka and faced the U.S. navy ship Confidence. Even though the crew of the Confidence expressed their personal support to 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. Greenpeace chartered another ship, a former minesweeper ''Edgewater Fortune'', which was renamed the ''Greenpeace Too!''. [[Paul Watson]], an early member who was unable to join the first expedition due to work and studies, was among the second expedition crew. One day out of Amchitka the United States Atomic Energy Commission exploded a Hydrogen bomb underground a day earlier than scheduled on November 6, 1971.<ref>''[http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/captain-watsons-biography.html Captain Paul Watson Biography]'', Sea Shepherd website. Accessed October 4, 2009</ref> 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=GPstory/>
Founding members of the committee included [[Jim Bohlen|Jim]] and Marie Bohlen, Paul Cote, [[Irving Stowe|Irving]] and Dorothy Stowe. Founding members were prominent in the [[Religious Society of Friends|Society of Friends (Quakers)]]<ref name="my-fight_for_the_whales" /> and the [[Sierra Club]] in Vancouver, BC. The committee initially worked under the aegis of the Sierra Club, however in 1971 when it was announced a protest vessel would travel to the test site,<ref name=green>Sean Connolly, ''Global Organizations: Greenpeace'', Franklin Watts, 2008, p. 12</ref> the Sierra Club objected and the committee changed to working independently of the Sierra Club.

During meetings in 1970 [[Bill Darnell]] combined the words ‘green’ and ‘peace’,<ref name=green/> thereby giving the organization its first expedition name, and what would later transform into one of the largest global environment organisations, [[Greenpeace]]. Many Canadians protested the [[United States military]] underground nuclear bomb tests, codenamed Cannikin, beneath the island of Amchitka, Alaska in 1971. The ''Don't Make a Wave Committee'' first expedition hired the ''Phyllis Cormack'', a halibut [[seiner]] available for charter, to take protestors to the testing zone on the island of Amchitka. The expedition was called ''Greenpeace I'', and included Canadian journalist [[Robert Hunter (journalist)|Robert Hunter]]. Considerable negative publicity for the nuclear tests was generated by the protest and with the news media now more focused on it.

A noted early member of the organisation was [[Paul Watson]], although work and study commitments prevented him from being on ''Greenpeace I''. He was a member of the crew of the chartered relief ship, the former minesweeper ''Edgewater Fortune'', which was renamed the ''Greenpeace Too!''. One day out of Amchitka the United States Atomic Energy Commission exploded a Hydrogen bomb underground a day earlier than scheduled on November 6, 1971. The United States cancelled a second test.<ref>''[http://www.seashepherd.org/who-we-are/captain-watsons-biography.html Captain Paul Watson Biography]'', Sea Shepherd website. Accessed October 4, 2009</ref>


On 4 May 1972, following Irving Stowe's departure from the chairmanship of the Don't Make A Wave Committee, the fledgling environmental group officially changed its name to the "Greenpeace Foundation".<ref>Sean Connolly, ''Global Organizations: Greenpeace'', Franklin Watts, 2008, p. 13</ref> Later that year [[David McTaggart]] would sail his yacht, ''Greenpeace III'', to [[French Polynesia]] to oppose the French atmospheric nuclear tests at [[Mururoa atoll]], supported by the new Greenpeace Foundation.
On 4 May 1972, following Irving Stowe's departure from the chairmanship of the Don't Make A Wave Committee, the fledgling environmental group officially changed its name to the "Greenpeace Foundation".<ref>Sean Connolly, ''Global Organizations: Greenpeace'', Franklin Watts, 2008, p. 13</ref> Later that year [[David McTaggart]] would sail his yacht, ''Greenpeace III'', to [[French Polynesia]] to oppose the French atmospheric nuclear tests at [[Mururoa atoll]], supported by the new Greenpeace Foundation.

Revision as of 15:35, 30 January 2010

The Don't Make a Wave Committee was the name of the environmental peace organization which later evolved into Greenpeace, a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to protest and attempt to halt further underground nuclear testing by the United States in the National Wildlife refuge at Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.[1] The Don't Make a Wave Committee was first formed in October 1969[2] and officially established in early 1970.[3][4]

In the late 1960's, 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. A 1969 demonstration of 7,000 [5] people blocked a major US-Canadian border crossing in British Columbia, carrying signs reading "Don't Make A Wave. It's Your Fault If Our Fault Goes". Further demonstrations occurred at U.S. border crossings in Ontario and Quebec.[6]The protests did not stop the US from detonating the bomb.[7]

File:IrvingStowe.jpg
Irving Stowe, a peace activist and a quaker was one of the founders of Dont' Make a Wave Committee.

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 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Irving and Dorothy Stowe, a Quaker couple. As members of the Sierra Club they were frustrated in the lack of action by the organization[4] and in October 1969 they started started meeting at a church basement, calling themselves as the Don't Make a Wave Committee and planning anti-nuclear protests.[2] From Irving Stowe, Jim Bohlen learned of form of passive resistance, "bearing witness", where objectionable activity is protested simply by mere presence. 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. The Sierra Club did not like this connection and in 1970 Jim and Marie Bohlen, Irving and Dorothy Stowe and Paul Cote, a law student and peace activist established The Don't Make a Wave Committee, working independently of The Sierra Club.[7] Early meetings were held in the Shaughnessy home of Robert and Bobbi Hunter. The first office was opened in a back-room, storefront off Broadway on Cypress in Kitsilano, (Vancouver).[8]

During meetings in 1970 Bill Darnell combined the words ‘green’ and ‘peace’,[9] thereby giving the organization its first expedition name, Greenpeace. Many Canadians protested the United States military underground nuclear bomb tests, codenamed Cannikin, beneath the island of Amchitka, Alaska in 1971. The Don't Make a Wave Committee first expedition hired the Phyllis Cormack, a halibut seiner available for charter, to take protestors to the testing zone on the island of Amchitka. The expedition was called Greenpeace I, and included Canadian journalist Robert Hunter. In the fall of 1971 the ship sailed towards Amchitka and faced the U.S. navy ship Confidence. Even though the crew of the Confidence expressed their personal support to 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. Greenpeace chartered another ship, a former minesweeper Edgewater Fortune, which was renamed the Greenpeace Too!. Paul Watson, an early member who was unable to join the first expedition due to work and studies, was among the second expedition crew. One day out of Amchitka the United States Atomic Energy Commission exploded a Hydrogen bomb underground a day earlier than scheduled on November 6, 1971.[10] 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.[4]

On 4 May 1972, following Irving Stowe's departure from the chairmanship of the Don't Make A Wave Committee, the fledgling environmental group officially changed its name to the "Greenpeace Foundation".[11] Later that year David McTaggart would sail his yacht, Greenpeace III, to French Polynesia to oppose the French atmospheric nuclear tests at Mururoa atoll, supported by the new Greenpeace Foundation.

See also

References

  1. ^ Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals (1981), ISBN 0-393-01499-1
  2. ^ a b AFP (2005-06-07). "Greenpeace Founder Bob Hunter Dies in Toronto". Oregon PeaceWorks. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  3. ^ "The Founders of Greenpeace". Greenpeace. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  4. ^ a b c Brown, Michael; May, John (1991). The Greenpeace Story. Italy: Doeling Kindersley Limited, London. ISBN 0-86318-692-2. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  5. ^ Protests fail to stop Nuclear Test countdown, The Free-Lance Star - Oct 2, 1969, Accessed via Google News Archive October 4, 2009.
  6. ^ Alaska is Braced for Atomic Shock, St. Petersburg Times - Oct 2, 1969. Accessed via Google News Archive October 4, 2009. Has a subtitle - Demonstrators picket US Embassy in Ottawa.
  7. ^ a b [Michael Brown & John May: The Greenpeace Story, ISBN 0-86318-691-2]
  8. ^ Greenpeace to Amchitka, An Environmental Odyssey by Robert Hunter.
  9. ^ Sean Connolly, Global Organizations: Greenpeace, Franklin Watts, 2008, p. 12
  10. ^ Captain Paul Watson Biography, Sea Shepherd website. Accessed October 4, 2009
  11. ^ Sean Connolly, Global Organizations: Greenpeace, Franklin Watts, 2008, p. 13

Further reading

  • Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals (1981), Paul Watson (ISBN 0-393-01499-1)
  • Don't Make a Wave Committee on the Greenpeace website
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