Tuna Triumph!

Great News! Greenpeace has just won yet another environmental victory, this time against one of the largest Tuna canning companies in the world, Princes. After Greenpeace supporters from around the world sent over 80,000 emails to the corporation headquarters, Princes has publicly declared that it will now come up with a new plan on how it gets its tuna. Before this victory, Princes relied on some shady sources of tuna, many of which used particularly harmful means of catching tuna that also killed many other species at the same time, such as sharks and various species of rays. The campaigns reached the peak of their intensity just a few weeks ago when Greenpeace activists climbed to the top of the Princes Corporation Headquarters in Liverpool, England dressed in shark costumes and began playing the Jaws theme through speakers.

To submit to the will of the people and the thousands of Greenpeace supporters around the world, Prince has published its new "Tuna Action Plan," which pledges that all tuna used by the company will be caught by only "pole and line" or "purse seine fishing" methods without harmful fish aggregation devices (sometimes called ocean annihilation devices) that can be detrimental to fish populations in the ocean. To supplement all of this, Princes has now pledged to support the Pacific Commons Marine Reserves and have promised not to get fish from that specific region

Brent Spar Victory!

Footage from Greenpeace in the Netherlands about the Brent Spar

Water Hoses Attacking Greenpeace Crews at the Brent Spar

In 1995, Greenpeace won a major victory in its campaign to stop other nations and corporations from using the vast oceans as a dumping ground. Located in the North Sea, the Brent Spar oil storage facility had been planned to be scrapped and sunk to rest forever at the bottom of the ocean. The 14,500 tonne behemoth proved to be a major environmental hazard, as there was still oil that inside the structure and its metal structure would last for hundreds of years in the depths of the water. When plans for this environmental crime broke out, protests from Greenpeace supporters across Europe broke out against Shell (the oil company involved), resulting in reported losses of sales of up to 50% at some petrol stations in Germany and even the topic being brought up at the G7 summit with the UK government. However, the British government refused to give into public protests until finally they overwhelmed Shell, who, in a dramatic change of plans, agreed to dismantle the Brent Spar and recycle it on land. Because of this shockingly tremendous victory for Greenpeace, the international governing body responsible for ocean dumping officially banned the dumping of any such rigs in the ocean, another huge victory for Greenpeace supporters across the world.

Rainbow Warrior Outrage!

The Rainbow Warrior was one of Greenpeace's proudest sailing ships. In 1985, it had just been updated and refurbished with new communication and radar equipment to help it further its goals as a vessel of Greenpeace. Moored in Auckland, New Zealand, the
Rainbow Warrior was about to set sail on its next mission, a major campaign against a French nuclear testing site at Moruroa Atoll. However, on the 10th of July, the French secret service, who had planted several spies aboard the crew of the ship, strategically placed several bombs throughout the hull of the vessel to sabotage it, the first of which detonated at 11:38 PM. With the massive damage done to the vessel, one crew member died, yet the French government denied having anything to do with this crime. In the end though, justice was seen through and the French Prime Minister publicly admitted that "Agents of the DGSE (secret service) sank this boat. They acted on orders." With such massive damage done to the Rainbow Warrior, it was decided to end its career prematurely and so it was made into a living reef at the bottom of the ocean at Matauri Bay in New Zealand's Cavalli Islands. This is just an example of the kind of adversity that members of Greenpeace face today from other parties, despite their noble mission and goal. Yet, Greenpeace has continued and persevered in the very face of this opposition and has already replaced the first Rainbow Warrior and now has plans to build a third ship for similar purposes.

A Brief History:

Greenpeace is an international environmental action group that focuses on using non-violent means of protest to attempt to expose environmental problems around the world today and to try to persuade other parties to make the changes necessary for a better and healthier future. 

The Power of a Nuclear Explosion

In 1971, a small group of dedicated activists sailed to a remote island in Alaska called Amchitka. This was soon to be the site of an underground United States nuclear weapon experimental detonation. However, at the same time this island was the last home for about 3000 members of an endangered species of sea otter, several bald eagles, peregrines, falcons, and many other species at risk. Though they were stopped before making it to the island, their voices were heard; the bomb never went off and no more experiments were conducted on the island, which was later designated as a wildlife sanctuary. 

Today, Greenpeace works solely on the support of its over 2.8 million supporters from over 40 different countries to continue its mission of creating a greener and more sustainable planet. Based in Amsterdam, Greenpeace does not accept donations from any major corporations or political entities to preserve its autonomy in decision-making. Some of the main problems targeted by Greenpeace today include: global climate change, nuclear and toxic pollution, threats to rain-forests and marine biology, and worldwide peace and disarmament.