A non-governmental organization that relies on foundation grants and nearly 3 million individual supporters to carry out its missions, Greenpeace is based in Amsterdam. Founded in 1971 in Vancouver, British Columbia, it is one of the largest environmental organizations in the world. Its’ stated goal is to “ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity; “ and to achieve this end it uses lobbying, direct action, and research to combat such issues as global warming, commercial whaling, overfishing, deforestation, and other environmental problems.
A Controversial History
Greenpeace was born of the peace movement and at first focused on anti-nuclear protests, when it’s original “Don’t Make a Wave” committee sent a ship to Amchitka, Alaska, to oppose US nuclear testing. Though the ship had to turn back and the test took place anyway, awareness was elevated and subsequent testing did not happen as planned. Shortly thereafter the organization adopted its current name and began to campaign against additional environmental issues, focusing heavily on such matters as eliminating toxic waste and putting a stop to commercial whaling. By the late seventies, regional Greenpeace chapters got together to form what is today known as Greenpeace International, with a few chapters including the US-based Greenpeace Foundation remaining independent.
Known for its direct actions and certainly the most visible of the world’s environmental organizations, it has drawn anger and ire, and has been the source of controversy and criticism. In 1985, members of France’s foreign intelligence service, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure, bombed and sank the original Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand in an attempt to stop Greenpeace from protesting planned nuclear tests. A Greenpeace photographer, Fernando Periera, was killed and two French agents were arrested by New Zealand Authorities. Incidentally, you can dive the Rainbow Warrior today; the agency gifted her to the sea and she is now a splendid artificial reef located in the Cavalli Islands about five kilometers from New Zealand’s Matauri Bay.
The bombing incident did not stop Greenpeace from moving forward with its consistent efforts to raise awareness of environmental issues, using passive resistance and bearing witness to events that have occurred in the decades since its founding. Tactics include anti-commercial whaling campaigns in which Greenpeace boats are driven between whales and harpoons to prevent whalers from making successful kills, climbing buildings to put up enormous banners, and even flying a huge inflatable snowman bearing the message “Stop Global Warming” at the 2008 G8 Summit in Germany. Often, volunteers are injured, jailed, or have legal actions taken against them as they work to raise global awareness.
Ways Greenpeace has Made a Difference
Despite the controversies that have sprung from their actions, Greenpeace has been able to make a difference and raise awareness; they have been pioneers for change for almost half a century and have continued to make great strides. Regardless of what we as individuals may think of the actions and various forms of civil disobedience that some members of the organization engage in, we have all benefitted, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly, from their work.
- Ending Deforestation – Deforestation is a major contributor to global warming and causes a whole host of environmental problems ranging from loss of habitat to major erosion. For ten years, Greenpeace and other environmental NGO’s campaigned to halt the import of illegal timber to the EU; in July of 2010, after ten years, the EU made the decision to ban such timber. Going forward, Greenpeace is working to include REDD, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, in the climate treaty to follow the Kyoto treaty.
- Slowing Ozone Depletion – During the early 1990’s, Greenpeace worked to develop a CFC-free refrigeration technology called “Greenfreeze” for mass production by the refrigerator industry. In 1997, the organization received an award from the United Nations, and by 2007, a third of new refrigerators worldwide were being produced using the new technology, with numbers continuing to increase.
- Encouraging Green Power Use – A number of campaigns worldwide have focused on alerting people to the benefits of renewable energy versus problems caused by traditional coal burning power plants. Often partnering with local movements in efforts to raise awareness and halt polluters, they have succeeded in shutting down plants and renewing polluted environments.
- Reducing Commercial Whaling – Efforts to stop commercial whaling entirely have been unsuccessful; however, Greenpeace continues to move forward and has been particularly successful with political lobbies. Recently, the United States has stepped up efforts to move toward placing increased political pressure on nations, such as Iceland, that continue to participate in commercial whaling.
- Improving Seafood Policies – Thanks to the contributions of Greenpeace and other environmental organizations, seafood distributors including stores and restaurants have changed their seafood policies for the better. Today, Costco, once targeted as one of the worst offenders as far as distributing endangered species was concerned, is leading the way by promising to promote healthy aquaculture, ending the distribution of IUCN red list species, and providing MSC certified options. Check out the Greenpeace Supermarket Scorecard for specific information pertaining to policies adhered to by stores you shop in.
- Stopping Shark Poachers – Together with the government of Palau, Greenpeace activists managed to catch Taiwanese poachers finning sharks in Palau’s Shark Sanctuary. Not only is this beneficial to the sharks, it is also benefitting Palau’s legal fishing trade – poaching is, after all, stealing.
- Campaigning for Sustainable Agriculture – By raising awareness about non-sustainable agricultural practices and educating the public about problems arising from increased genetic modifications in agricultural staples as well as about the dangers of consuming foods from sources in which toxins are released, Greenpeace is working to help keep us and our planet healthy.
These are just a few of the many major victories Greenpeace has made in the recent past. Efforts are ongoing, globally, to continue raising awareness and to prevent environmental catastrophes from occurring. Greenpeace, which began as a simple grassroots organization, is now well recognized and has even gained respect as a major player on the world stage; they recently joined forces with other NGOs including Amnesty International, World Vision, and Oxfam International to create the INGO charter, which is a response to government, business, and media entities for greater transparency. The organization’s website keeps people world-wide informed, and is a tool for raising awareness in and of itself. Today, Greenpeace is becoming less controversial and more mainstream – with continued effort and focus on worldwide issues, the organization can keep making a difference for the earth and all its inhabitants.