Greenpeace is perhaps one of the most enduring and established environmental protection organizations in the world. They have a rich history filled with both hard times and great successes. For their courage and spirit they deserve great recognition.

Greenpeace states its goal is to ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity. It has over the years campaigned globally over issues such as global warming, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling and anti-nuclear issues.

Their methods vary from direct action to lobbying and to research to achieve their goals. Greenpeace refuses to accept funding from governments, corporations or political parties and rely solely on the support of individual donations.

The origin of Greenpeace is rather undefined and dates back to the early 1970s in Vancouver, Canada. Some of the most important founders included Bob Hunter, David McTaggart and Doroty and Irving Stone. Together these individuals started a movement that would become a serious global organization.

Bob Hunter was the personification of the long haired, bearded journalist passionate about his cause. He believed that nothing was unacheivable, that it really was possible to dream big and change the world. As a journalist Bob Hunter was interested in the potential of using the media to reach larger audiences. He developed the use of media mindbombs, powerful images and sounds that would be broadcasted around the world. This approach proved to be very successful and is a corner stone of their methodology.

David McTaggart was far more pragmatic, organized and very entrepreneurial. He built Greenpeace as an organization, expanding it on an international level and giving it the infrastructure it needed to operate on such a global scale. By 1979, he had gathered support throughout Europe and united the organizations different factions under the banner of Greenpeace International.

The Stowes contributed the founding ethos of Greenpeace; inspired by the example set by Ghandi they believed in the pacifist methods of Bearing Witness. This is a sort of passive resistance: You go to the scene of an objectionable activity to register your opposition by your presence. They believed that citizens acting together had the strength to oppose the decisions of powerful entities such as companies and governments.

Greenpeace evolved from the peace movement and anti-nuclear protests in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the early 1970s. On September 15, 1971, the newly founded Don't Make a Wave Committee sent a chartered ship, Phyllis Cormack, renamed Greenpeace for the protest, from Vancouver to oppose United States testing of nuclear devices in Amchitka, Alaska. It was not long before they changed their name to Greenpeace. However they received international attention during the 1980s when the French intelligence agency bombed one of their ships in Aucklands Waitemata Harbour, causing the death of one individual, as part of preemptive action.

Nowadays Greenpeace is actively pursuing a wide variety of environmental protection programs aimed at changing attitudes, behavior and protecting our environment by promoting peace on a global scale.

Some of their key areas of influence include stopping climate change, challenging wasteful and destructive fishing, saving forests, promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing dependence on finite ressources.

Sean Hagerty