Inside Greenpeace

HP and Acer speak up for progressive chemicals law in the EU

Here’s an exclusive peek behind the scenes of our greener electronics work from our self confessed policy wonk Melissa Shinn. While you might see Greenpeace climbers swinging from buildings, our policy experts like Melissa are a crucial part of Greenpeace for delivering campaign victories.

One thing we often see being a `policy wonk´ is that a very effective technique to stop a proactive proposal for a law is to play passive aggressive. Our politicians - especially the ones that are more sensitive to the woes of industry and our economic powers that be are very conservative (to put it mildly) about anything that regulates companies further.
So when the more progressive political parties in the European Parliament suggested that the latest revision of an EU law that regulates the use of chemicals and toxic materials in electronics should also ban toxic PVC and BFRs, arguing that there was sufficient evidence to do so and that it was perfectly feasible to substitute these materials it was maybe not surprising that this has a cautious reception from some politicians. Despite the fact that several big companies like HP, Nokia and Apple have proven its feasible.

The chemical industry - driven by the PVC and brominated flame retardant lobby promptly engaged behind the industry trade federation Orgamlime and the US based IPC standards institute to gun down the proposal, fearing loss of market for these toxic substances. At this point if the companies that have already done the hard work to replace BFRs and PVC with safer alternatives - at their own cost, (not cheap they assure us!) mobilise their trade federation to come out and tell everyone that its perfectly justifiable and feasible to ban the stuff then the political dialogue would most likely roll in the direction of the ban.

Read more »

Posted by Tom at 2:36 PM | Permalink

World Press Award for Nick Cobbing

We just heard the fantastic news that Nick Cobbing, the on-board photographer during our Arctic Meltdown expedition, won a World Press Award for one of his photos of last year's expedition.

© Nick Cobbing/Greenpeace
If you want to look back on how and when this photo was made, you can read the following entries, by Nick himself and by Eric Philips, polar explorer.
Congratulations to Nick!

Posted by Juliette at 11:59 AM | Permalink

Organised hippies

In my daily news/ blog scans about everything environment and Greenpeace related, I often read comments from people who think we're just a bunch of disorganised, unwashed, unemployed, uninformed hippies.

If you think that, or hear that being said, read this little paragraph from a letter sent to us by Professor Peter Wadhams from Cambridge university after he stayed on the Arctic Sunrise:

"The support offered by the whole crew on board was amazing - unstinted, professional, and far better than I normally find on government-owned research ships.
[...]
As well as the main work on ice thickness decay rates there were two graduate student projects which benefited from access to the ship. [...] Both students will owe a considerable debt to Greenpeace for the research material for their PhD theses. In addition, the officers were most helpful in assisting the maintenance of an ice log throughout the voyage, the results of which will be used as input to the first edition of a book by the Canadian Ice Service on field identification of new and old ice."

Read more »

Posted by Juliette at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Voices of Pacific Activists: Tereapii Mauriaiti

On the Esperanza, Tereapii, or Tere as we call him for short, is the bosun - one who supervises the deckhands and helps the first mate in maintaining the ship. He is from the Cook Islands, where they depend largely on ocean resources for food and livelihood. He is one of the four Pacific activists on board.

Tere grew up on a Rarotonga Island, a place of beauty with a clean environment, which he proudly calls home.

He joined Greenpeace 11 years ago.

“My journeys and travels took me to all the corners of the world. I was able to see amazing places but sadly also saw a lot of environmental destruction."

"I joined the Esperanza 2 months ago and for the first time I saw the effects of climate change right at my doorstep. We have fallen victim o sea level rise, our home is sinking along with everything else, now I am campaigning against illegal tuna fishing im my own region.”

Posted by Anne-Marije at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Marco Ferraz: ´The optimism of the action is much more valuable than the pessimism of the thought´

For Marco Ferraz, being a crew member of the Esperanza is a dream come true. He had always wanted to work for Greenpeace and by a stroke of good luck, he was able to join the ship in Cairns just in time for the first leg of Defending our Pacific Tour. The 29-year old Brazilian took to work on deck like fish to water.
Read on as Marco shares with us how his passion for the environment began and continues to this day.

I used to think that I was passionate for animals, forests, all the beauty we can see and feel in nature. Until I discovered that we are all just one; nature, humanity, planet Earth, are parts of a single thing.

Today, I know that I am passionate about life.

Read more »

Posted by Anne-Marije at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Saving our oceans: officer on deck talks about solutions to overfishing

The following blog was filed by Inge Wallage:

The Warrior’s current mission is part of our global plan to protect our oceans by zoning off 40% of them as marine reserves. The Med is one of the areas that is especially vulnerable to overfishing and climate change

Currently less than one percent of the Mediterranean Sea is protected, vital fish stocks such as Mediterranean bluefin tuna are being fished to their limits and monitoring of pirate vessels is patchy at best. What we’re promoting is a rescue plan -- not a “don’t fish” plan, but a solution that will mean fish for tomorrow by creating marine reserves today.

Read more »

Posted by Brian at 11:51 PM | Permalink

Gamers debate toxic electronics in Kotaku comments

About a month ago the Greener Electronics campaign released videos on the popular gaming site Kotaku targeting console manufacturers Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo (makers of the ever-popular yet not-so-green) Wii:

The reactions from gamers were a little bit less 'you make a good point' and a little bit more 'piss off'. So, in the grand Greenpeace tradition of persevering in the face of taunting - we tried again. This time Tom (coordinator of the Greener Electronics campaign and occasional blogger on Making Waves) responded directly to the criticisms/doubts/annoyance the gaming community expressed with the campaign that targeted their much-loved gaming consoles.

Read more »

Posted by Laura at 1:18 PM | Permalink

Sjoerd Jongens 1950-2008

Photo ©Greenpeace/Kate Davison

Sjoerd Jongens, 57 years old, died yesterday in a bicycle accident on his way to work here at Greenpeace International in Amsterdam.

He joined Greenpeace in 1987, when he took on the job of radio operator at World Park Base in Antarctica -- a place he loved for its beauty, its solitude... and the clarity of its atmosphere as a transmission medium for radio waves.

He was a veteran of two winters in Antarctica with the Australian Antarctic Division before he joined Greenpeace at World Park Base, as part of our ultimately successful campaign to ban oil and minerals exploitation in that fragile environment. He was most at home there or on the ocean, and he sailed with Greenpeace as a radio operator on many missions over the years, including voyages into the Southern Ocean to save the whales and a solar-powered "New Millennium" expedition across the international date line.

He moved back to his native Netherlands in 1989 and joined our international office as a new brand of staff member, a network support engineer. But that title hardly does justice to the role he played. I say this with the deepest affection: Sjoerd was a geek. His single-minded obsession with all things digital meant that he was constantly finding new ways to bend new technologies to Greenpeace's purposes, and he broke new ground for two decades.

Sjoerd foresaw that a new thing called " the internet" might be something we'd want to use in future, and he started a gopher, WAIS, and FTP server back in the late 80s. He registered the domain www.greenpeace.org and put our first website up in 1992, serving as the organisation's first webmaster.

He set up our first web server on a second-hand 386 PC with a 20 megabyte hard disk running Xenix. Keychains today have more memory than that, and Sjoerd was proud that his Linux skills allowed him to take a computer that most people would have thrown away, and not only make it work for Greenpeace, but turn it into a piece of cutting-edge technology.

He did a great deal for Greenpeace that will remain unsung -- both because he laboured so often in solitude and the nature of so much of his work was simply that it enabled others to do theirs. All most people knew was that Sjoerd was the server master, a practitioner of dark digital arts, the guy who stayed late into the night and made it all work. And the guy who couldn't take a vacation, because his beloved machines, like pouting pets, would throw a fit whenever he left the office and refuse to work for anyone else.

He was possibly the grumpiest support person in the history of IT support. And yet he was beloved by everyone who caught a glimpse of the heart behind the gruffness. His managers, myself among them, quickly learned to keep him close to the computers, far from the staff. Mike Townsley once approached him to say he was having trouble with his laptop. "No, Mike. I suspect we'll find that your laptop is actually having trouble with you," was the unironic response.

But those who saw him at sea or in Antarctica saw a different Sjoerd. He kept a diary of his stay in the Antarctic, and wrote this:

Life here is a very special experience, both professionally, domestically, and socially. You are sharing a year of your life with a group of very dedicated, passionate, intelligent, well-traveled, interesting and interested peers. The landscape is unique, impressive, and on a windless, sunny day the horizon surrounds you, colorful, tingling and stunningly clean.

During a clear summer day, the Trans-Antarctic mountains on the other side of the McMurdo Bay are lit from all sides, 24 hours a day, thrusting their white-and-red peaks around 3000 meters into the sky. It's indescribably beautiful.

Even during the long polar night Antarctica remembers light, with the Aurora Australis, the millions of visible stars, and its sharply shining moonlight. You can never forget you are in a rare environment. People call this a hardship posting, but from me you'll hear no complaining. Do I feel honored that I had the opportunity to contribute to the preservation of this great continent? You bet I do.

There was a rainbow over Amsterdam yesterday morning, about the time Sjoerd would have been setting off on his last journey. I take some comfort in the thought that it may have been among the last things he saw, and in imagining that it might have been a tiny farewell gesture from the Earth, to one of the gentlest of her Rainbow Warriors.

Photo by Andrew Davies

This photo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.

--------------------------
Sjoerd's funeral was on Thursday, November 20th. We presented the family with a book of memories and photos, including the comments and remembrances from this blog.

Posted by Brian at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (121)

Amnesty support for Junichi and Toru (the Tokyo Two)

Amnesty International has sent a letter to the prime minister of Japan expressing "deep concern" about the detention of Junichi and Toru. From the Amnesty press release:

“We are also concerned that their detention, the charges against them, and the police raids on Greenpeace’s office and the homes of five of its staff are aimed at intimidating both activists and non-governmental organizations.

“We ask the Japanese prime minister to make a clear statement assuring human rights defenders, including environmental activists such as Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki and organizations such as Greenpeace, that their right to engage in peaceful activities without intimidation or harassment will be respected by the state, including the justice system.”

Posted by Andrew at 11:35 AM | Permalink

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.

Read more »

Posted by Andrew at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (117)

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

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 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.

Read more »

Posted by Andrew at 6:49 PM | Permalink

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 at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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 Brian at 9:50 AM | Permalink

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?

Read more »

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

MasterMike - a Greenpeace Captain's blog

Read more »

Posted by Lisa at 11:03 PM | Permalink

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

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