Full feedItalian tour wrap up
Posted by Emily, campaigner, onboard the Arctic Sunrise in Italy
Our Italian “Quit Coal” tour has come to an end and it is time for the Arctic Sunrise to sail on to its next destination. Our hard working activists and ship’s crew made this tour a success. Five actions against coal helped to raise awareness about this fossil fuel’s role in climate change and the necessity of supporting alternatives in order to protect our future.
Before departing, we took one last swipe at coal in Brindisi harbor. While one of our brave volunteers sat on an anchor chain to prevent a coal ship from moving into port, several others went to work with paint and brushes. On each of the three coal ships waiting outside the harbor, we painted one word of our message. When viewed together, our message becomes clear, “Coal Kills Climate”. If we want to save the climate, we must stop burning coal. The climate crisis demands nothing less than an energy revolution. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are the only way to go!
Quit coal. Save the climate!
Comments
Perhaps this has been discussed/addressed previously, but I'm curious how it's justified using a huge ship to travel from city to city for environmental awareness campaigns. Surely there must be less resource intensive means of travel?
When chasing down a whaling fleet, I can understand the need. In this case, not so much.
Posted by: RhapsodyInGlue | December 7, 2007 6:45 PM
Hi there Rhapsody,
Ships make an excellent logistical platform. They're like a mobile home base.
The Arctic Sunrise carries boats, has radar, a tall mast with radio communications, satellite communication including high speed date, a video editing suite, an office, kitchen/galley/food stores, sleeping quarters for 28 (more in a pinch), heavy equipment (lathe, welding gear, etc), scrap metal, a hospital, a big open hold for making banners, and so forth.
I wasn't on the Sunrise for the Italy work, but I know from experience that these kinds of things involve a lot of improvisation. Maybe it would be possible to pull off these actions without one, but maybe not. Having all this gear at hand (and mobile) is a huge asset.
On top of that, ships make powerful symbols. They can literally take the action from one place to another. In short, we use them because they work.
Unfortunately, we've only got three big ships, and there's a lot of planet out there to save.
Posted by: Andrew - Greenpeace web editor | December 11, 2007 10:07 PM