Greenpeace

GREENPEACE IS A non-governmental organization (NGO) that was established in 1971 to campaign for sustainable development and good environmental management, and against practices considered to be inimical to its goals. The original stimulus to create the group was to protest against the underground testing of nuclear devices by the U.S. government at the island of Amchitka off the coast of Alaska.

The method of protesting was to provide witnesses to activities that would otherwise have remained secret, alerting media, and attracting coverage.[Page 382] In some cases, passive physical resistance has been used, for example by placing small unarmed boats in the way of vessels believed to be carrying nuclear fuels. The activities and causes championed by Greenpeace have been so popular that it has become a worldwide organization, with a presence in 41 countries and nearly three million members. This has brought the group and its members into conflict with both governments and the private sector. Perhaps the most notorious incident occurred when the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior, which had been actively monitoring the activities of French troops and officials involved with testing of nuclear devices in the South Pacific, was boarded and sunk by French special forces, with loss of life.

In recent years, the deregulation of much business activity in many countries of the world, in combination with the forces of globalization that have made truly integrated international activities much more possible, has greatly broadened the scope Greenpeace activities. These include protesting international transportation of nuclear and other types of waste, the introduction of genetically modified organisms, and attempts to develop new weapons systems.

More longstanding campaigns confront whaling and pirate fishing, environmental degradation, and mismanagement, and examination of potentially hazardous chemical processes. Successful campaigns have resulted in the Basel Convention banning the export of hazardous wastes from countries, the establishment of an Antarctic whale sanctuary and an European Union (EU) decision to phase out driftnets.

The relaxation of regulations and the use of heightened security tensions by the United States and other governments restricting civil liberties have opened a number of new threats to Greenpeace's agenda. In 1999, for example, Greenpeace bank accounts were frozen in the United Kingdom (UK) and its vessels ordered to leave UK waters in response to the activities of the Greenpeace ship, the MV Sirius that had blocked the departure of two ships transporting nuclear matter to Japan. In August 2001, 17 people, including 15 Greenpeace activists, were charged with felony offenses for conspiracy and threatened with lengthy jail terms for protesting against the testing of the Star Wars missile program.

Revenue Canada (internal revenue), meanwhile, refused charitable status to Greenpeace Environmental Foundation, claiming that it served no useful purpose and that its campaigns against corporations could put people out of work. These examples have been seen as part of a concerted international attempt to suppress NGO protests.

As an organization, Greenpeace has been extremely successful in raising the profile of environmental issues and has been invited to join international conferences at the highest level. Greenpeace, like other NGOs, such as Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth, have helped to change people's understanding of democracy and of how they can effect change.

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