Inside Greenpeace

Hans Monker

You would never pick out Hans in a bar as a hero. He just didn't have the look. But he went places most people wouldn't dare go, to do work beyond most of us - for Greenpeace, Médecins Sans Frontières and other groups.

He was born in the Netherlands, traveled most of the world (from the Amazon to Antarctica) and died in Vietnam - where he lived with his wife.

Recently, Hans checked into the hospital with pneumonia. He responded well to treatment, and checked out several days later - eager to get back to work on a Greenpeace project. Today, he collapsed and passed away at a hotel breakfast table.

Hans was a behind the scenes person. Not one for the spotlight. He had strong convictions though, and when pressed would talk about them. Here's his crew profile from our first ship tour together - a voyage to defend whales in the Southern Ocean:

It is important for me to participate in this campaign - for a long time millions of people all over the world have been united in voicing that whaling is just not on - we have a responsibility to make sure that we preserve whales, not kill them.

One of mankind's greatest gifts is the one of creation - we have the ability to create both beautiful as well as destructive things.

Another gift given to mankind is freedom. We are capable of choosing to destroy or protect the earth.

Creativity and freedom are not for free - we also have the responsibility to use our gifts in a good way, that is: to make things beautiful, then we can enjoy them together, in freedom.

My personal goal to be with Greenpeace is to be part of a group of people that gives others food for thought.

-- Hans

I was lucky to know Hans, but I know a lot of you knew him better than I did. Please leave messages in the comments. We'll pass them on to his family.

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Posted by Andrew at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (114)

Unusual Xmas gifts

Greenpeace Australia has launched a gift giving website for the holiday season where you can buy stuff more interesting than t-shirts and other normal Greenpeace gifts. (Although we all still like t-shirts.)

Pictured at left is the Protection for one Paradise Forest tree. However, my favorite remains the Super Kryptonite bike lock ("More useful than you might think"). And I tell you, that deckhand is a bargain mate!

Posted by Andrew at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

State of Independence

Greenpeace doesn't take any government or corporate money. Period. It's something we don't always explain clearly enough, and some of our supporters quite reasonably ask us why we don't just take the money - after all, once it's in our hands it's going to a good cause.

Well, here's one reason why. One of the things you can do on our website, right now, is challenge the IT industry to develop a green computer. We have to challenge them, because right now a green computer just doesn't exist.

One of the other things you can do on our website is download a ranking guide which shows Sony Ericsson to be one of the greener manufacturers of hi tech electronics. Now, suppose we took money from Sony Ericsson. All the other companies on the list would cry foul and say we were only being nice to Sony Ericsson because of the money - and a lot of people would believe them.

Or suppose we took money from one of the lower scoring manufacturers, like Panasonic. Suddenly we'd find ourselves in a very difficult position, having to trade off spending the money on (say) saving the Amazon versus campaigning against Panasonic.

So by restricting ourselves to donations from individuals we make sure the only questions we have to ask ourselves when spending money are 'would our supporters approve of this?' and 'will this make a difference to the environment?' It keeps things simple and it lets our supporters have confidence in us.

So, if you feel like joining the 3 million or so individuals around the world who support our work just click here. You'll be in good company.

Posted by Martin Lloyd at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Jamie and the Secretary General

Here's an update from Jamie (Greenpeace China corporate social responsibility campaigner). She went with Greenpeace International Executive Director Gerd to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last Wednesday, and emailed me this afterwards:

My “date” with Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations

New York, September 19th, 2007. In September 2007, a few days before the United Nations high level meeting for climate change - in which Greenpeace China’s campaign director, Lo Sze Ping, is invited to address 70 heads of state (including Bush) about what we believe countries should do to protect the climate - Greenpeace is also invited by the office of the Secretary General to meet the Secretary General himself in private. When my colleague informs me that on behalf of Greenpeace China, I am to be part of the Greenpeace delegation, my first reaction is, “You have to be kidding me! I am just a 26-year old girl! What am I going to say to when I meet Mr. Ban Ki-moon?!”

For me, meeting Ban Ki-moon is the equivalent of meeting a rock star like Michael Jackson or the Beatles. For one, we are both Korean and he is currently probably one of the best known Koreans in the world. Moreover, I admire his values and the fact that he takes the problems of this world so personally.

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Posted by Andrew at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How to get a job with Greenpeace

Some hints if you are applying for a job at Greenpeace

• Do take the time to write a cover letter, preferably one that explains why you want the job . Working for us is a big step, if you've not thought about it properly we're not interested
• Do not write the words 'I am an excellent communicator' in your cover letter. Communicate something excellently instead - I promise I'll notice
• Keep your CV clear and focused on the vacancy you are applying for - I am not going to pick the relevant paragraph out of four pages of padding
• Read the job description, if your CV doesn't match it we're probably all wasting our time
• Do not try and convince me that your job as a shop floor sales assistant was some kind of executive position, if I find out in the interview I'll be mad, if I find out after I hire you I'll be furious. Spare us both the hassle and be proud of what you achieved; you never know, I might view a customer service of the month award or a record of hard work done well in a good light...

I and my team are currently reviewing 45 CVs, of which maybe 10 will make the cut and be considered for a first round interview. The standard of most of them is abysmal, not necessarily in terms of the skills people have, but in how they communicate themselves. So if you want to work for Greenpeace - take note.

Posted by Martin Lloyd at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In memory of Richard Watson

First posted by Tracy, over on the UK blog:

Richard Ian Watson
16 January 1965 - 15 January 2007

Richard, known at "Watty" to his many friends around the world, died Monday after a two year struggle with illness. Richard was dedicated to taking action for a better world and worked with Greenpeace for the past 18 years. He participated in Greenpeace actions all over the world, worked on Greenpeace ships, went to jail and took the stand at trial in defence of his beliefs for a green and peaceful world.

Please share your stories and thoughts here for his partner Rachel, his family and his many friends in memory of our much loved and respected friend and colleague »

Posted by Dave at 11:54 PM | Permalink

Greenpeace admits guilt

I had a nice big cup of laughing outloud this morning when Elaine at the desk next to me stumbled on this and read out the headline. UH-OH sez I to myself I sez, what faux pas have we actually committed and admitted to or not committed and admitted to or been accused of admitting to? I expected a morning of damage control, only to discover it's a new ad campaign from Greenpeace Canada.

Posted by brianfit at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unexpected Campaign Glitch #258: a YAHOO! account????

Last week the Greenpeace Office in Amsterdam was in super high-gear. Aside from the launch of the Green my Apple campaign, we were running a rapid response blockade on the Probo Koala, the toxic death ship that poisoned 50,000 people in the Ivory Coast, killing eight.

We had tracked the ship after it left Ivory Coast, and it ended up in Estonia, within striking distance of the Arctic Sunrise. Ship's schedules are planned a year in advance, usually, so diverting one of these big babies on short notice takes effort. and a huge degree of flexibility from the folks on board. The AS crew took the change in plans in stride, cranked up the banner factory for the new target, and headed for Paldinski while our political operatives worked with the government of the Ivory Coast to demand the ship be seized pending a full investigation.

I mean, seriously. The Probo Koala had simply sailed away from Africa and was free to roam the seas. Ship kills 8 people (4 of them children), poisons thousands more, and nobody even issues a ticket? Somebody ought to do something, right?

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Posted by brianfit at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

MasterMike - a Greenpeace Captain's blog

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Posted by Lisa at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Manila newspaper makes Greenpeace expedition sound really cool

From ABS-CBN:

Amidst endless war, death and destruction almost everywhere on our planet, a 20-year-old vessel, originally a Murmansk-based firefighting ship, is crossing the vast oceans on a voyage with a message of great concern but also of great hope. The Esperanza (Spanish for hope), the biggest vessel in the fleet of international environmental organization Greenpeace, is spearheading the Defend Our Oceans campaign. The journey started in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 15, 2005, and is the most ambitious ship expedition ever undertaken by Greenpeace. The Esparanza is on its way from India to the Philippines where it will arrive on August 15.

The Defend Our Oceans campaign brings the oceans to the shore. It exposes the enormous damage that human activity does to the oceans, but it also reveals the—often unseen—beauty of the oceans and proposes solutions how to preserve precious marine life.

Posted by Andrew at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Clean up party

We had a bit of a late spring-cleaning in the office today. It is amazing what you find lying around: Calendars from 2004, the name badge of someone who left years ago…

That's Mike in the photo. You might remember him most recently from this year's International Whaling Commission meeting (where he was arrested for basically being in the wrong place at the wrong time and not keeping his mouth shut).

Mike's favorite finds were an old Kwajalein atoll atlas, a cardboard mounted news article about a protest at the Koeberg nuclear power plant in South Africa (signed by all the activists who were arrested), a copy of the Baghdad Bulletin from when Mike was last there, and a set of nine 1.4 inch floppy disks with early Greenpeace email software.

Posted by Andrew at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)