Greenpeace

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Greenpeace

LEADER: Gerd Leipold

ESTIMATED SIZE: 2.8 million

USUAL AREA OF OPERATION: Worldwide (head-quarters in Amsterdam; offices in forty-one countries)

OVERVIEW

Greenpeace is an international environmental group with offices in forty-one countries worldwide and 2.8 million supporters. Since it was founded in 1971, it has been instrumental in drawing worldwide public attention to a host of environmental concerns, including whaling, global warming, genetic modification of crops, and nuclear testing. Its mission statement disavows violence, but its critics say that its campaigning tactics have teetered over into extremism.

HISTORY

In many ways, Greenpeace can be viewed as an extension of the 1960s' peace and hippy movement. It emerged in Vancouver in 1969 as the "Don't Make a Wave Committee," and consisted of a group of Canadian and American expatriate (many of whom were living in self-imposed exile to dodge the Vietnam draft) political activists and hippies.

Its initial motivation was to "bear witness" to U.S. underground nuclear testing at Amchitka, an island off the west coast of Alaska. Its motivations were a mix of environmental concerns about the fate of the island's sea otters and bald eagles, and a deep-seated aversion to nuclear weapons. A seaborne mission in spring of 1971 on the boat, the Phyllis Cormack, was intercepted before it reached Amchitka, and the nuclear test went ahead. But, the activists had created a flurry of interest. Later on that year, the United States ended nuclear testing on the island.

The Committee renamed itself later in 1971 as a way of uniting interests of its members within its title. According to a possibly apocryphal story on its web site, it was a member called Bill Darnell who came up with the "dynamic" combination of words to bind together the group's concern for the planet and opposition to nuclear arms. "Somebody flashed two fingers as we were leaving the church basement and said 'Peace!'" Bill said. "Let's make it a Green Peace. And we all went Ommmmmmmm." The committee was renamed Greenpeace.

Two intrinsically linked events changed this fledgling organization from a minor Canadian pressure group to the world's biggest environmental organization. In 1972, Greenpeace put out an appeal for sympathetic yacht owners to help them protest against French atmospheric nuclear tests in the Pacific. Over the next twenty-five years, this would be Greenpeace's most ardently fought and famous campaign, helping heap international condemnation on successive French governments.

Answering that call was David McTaggart, a 40-year-old Canadian former entrepreneur, who was traveling the world in his yacht, as he put it, "finding himself." By his own account, he was initially more annoyed by the French government's unilateral decision to close off part of the Pacific to shipping than about the actual issue of nuclear testing, but his subsequent encounters with the French changed all that.

On June 17, 1972, and after seventy days at sea evading the New Zealand and French navies, McTaggart succeeded in holding up the tests by sailing his tiny 38-foot ketch, the Vega, within a few miles of the about-to-be detonated bomb, daring the French to kill him. The Vega was eventually rammed and taken in tow by a minesweeper, an action the French tried to pass off as a rescue.

A year later when he repeated the protest, McTaggart's yacht was boarded by French commandos, who gave him a severe beating. McTaggart lost the sight in one of his eyes for several months. The French tried to claim he had had an accident, then released photos of McTaggart dining with French naval officers, suggesting events had been amicable and that McTaggart had somehow staged his injuries. However, graphic photographs on a film taken by a fellow crew member, Anne-Marie Horne, were smuggled out and proved the French had lied. In the controversy that followed, the French abandoned atmospheric testing, but moved its nuclear testing underground.

These two events gave Greenpeace world-wide publicity and McTaggart a sense of mission. Previously a successful businessman and hugely single-minded individual (he was three times Canadian badminton champion), he had seemed to lose his direction when, in his mid 30s, a gas explosion at a ski lodge he owned had seriously injured one of his employees. He had subsequently left his wife and children to embark on his voyage of discovery when he had found his calling.

McTaggart utilized both the publicity he and Greenpeace had gained after the Vega's two missions and his business acumen to transform the Vancouver outfit into a global organization. In his mid 40s, McTaggart set about creating a Greenpeace in Europe, finding like-minded people to set up national organizations. By 1979, Greenpeace was unified across the Atlantic—as Greenpeace—with McTaggart running it. He remained chairman until 1991.

Greenpeace had also found a second hugely popular cause: "Save the Whales." This added to the organization's burgeoning popularity in the mid-1970s. In a series of spectacular protests, Greenpeace activists would chase whaling fleets and interpose themselves between the harpoon of a catcher ship and a fleeing whale. As with the protests against French nuclear testing, film and photographic footage was circulated in the world's media.

LEADERSHIP

GERD LEIPOLD

German-born Gerd Leipold has been International Executive Director of Greenpeace International since June 2001. The role serves as leader and public spokesperson of the entire organization, and he is responsible for leading its campaigns. A long-standing activist, Leipold had held a variety of senior positions within the organization prior to taking up the role. These have included directing Greenpeace's Nuclear Disarmament Campaign and the positions of Executive Director of Greenpeace Germany, Chair of the Board of Greenpeace Nordic, and a board member of Greenpeace Germany and Greenpeace USSR.

Speaking of his sense of mission and where he saw Greenpeace heading, Leipold said in 2003: "There are huge numbers of people on every continent who are committed to the common good, and who are no longer willing to accept the agendas of timid or inept governments or unscrupulous corporations. This global social movement has been described as the 'emerging second superpower' and is made up of millions of people dedicated to environmental protection, human rights and social development. The continued growth of Greenpeace shows that even in economically difficult times people have a vision of a different world. This is our best hope for a better future."

As environmental concerns crossed over into mainstream political debate in the 1980s, Greenpeace's protests branched out, though never losing its focus. As McTaggart would later say of its approach: "No campaign should be begun without clear goals; no campaign should be begun unless there is a possibility that it can be won; no campaign should be begun unless you intend to finish it off." Its protests during this time included the destruction of the Amazonian rain forests, pollution caused by disused oil wells, contamination of the oceans, and global warming. Worldwide support for Greenpeace would peak in 1991 at 4.8 million.

But protests against nuclear testing remained its most potent campaign and source of publicity as well as acting as a constant source of irritation for various governments, particularly the French, who seemed to bear the brunt of Greenpeace's protests. In 1985, as Greenpeace prepared another flotilla to try to avert French nuclear testing at Moruroa atoll, French special forces, acting under the direct orders of President Francois Mitterand, attached two bombs to the hull of the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior. When the two bombs detonated, they sank the ship, killing a Portuguese photographer, Fernando Pereira.

The bombing of Rainbow Warrior caused international outrage, and the French government went on to pay the New Zealand authorities considerable compensation, as well as offering a formal apology. Yet, some critics of Greenpeace have suggested that the French were right to attack Rainbow Warrior as Greenpeace had itself used illegal methods in some of its protests. This suggested that, for all the worthy causes it backed, Greenpeace was actually using extremism in pursuit of its causes.

Greenpeace has always disavowed violence, although some of its "peaceful" confrontations at sea and interventions in whaling expeditions or nuclear testing have been in contravention of maritime law, or placed other vessels (including its own) in danger. Denmark has used its anti-terrorism laws to prosecute a Greenpeace member, although this was for trespassing rather than placing other people in imminent danger. Indeed its stunts, now, as ever, hold nuisance value rather than anything more insidious. For instance, in 2005, its British Executive Director, Stephen Tindall, chained himself with other activists to an SUV production line. More recently, thirteen members in the U.K. were arrested for leading protests at silos holding genetically modified grain, which Greenpeace claimed were of an "illegal" strain. They were later acquitted of public nuisance crimes.

It would be difficult, moreover, to take all of the criticisms of Greenpeace seriously. Some of Greenpeace's opponents dislike the group's left-wing origins, and others dislike its anti-corporate stance. A typical and well-publicized complaint was a letter published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, republished on the anti-environmentalist web site, envirotruth.org, by Dan S. Borné, President of the Louisiana Chemical Association. Mr. Borné pondered whether: "Greenpeace is a tool of state-sponsored eco-terrorism?" The nub of his complaint was that Greenpeace had published a variety of petrochemical worst-case scenarios on the Internet and given details of plants so that activists could protest. A would-be terrorist could not only take inspiration from such a scenario, he believed, but be led—thanks to Greenpeace—to the site of a potential crime.

KEY EVENTS

1969:: Don't Make A Wave Committee emerges in Vancouver. Their first acts are the blocking of the Canadian border with Alaska to stop nuclear tests and later observance of tests.
1971:: Group renamed as Greenpeace.
1972:: David McTaggart brings worldwide attention by evading New Zealand and French navies to disrupt nuclear testing in the Pacific.
1973:: McTaggart savagely beaten by French commandoes while again disrupting nuclear tests.
1975–1979:: McTaggart organizes Greenpeace organizations across Europe. This culminates in the formation of Greenpeace International in 1979.
1985:: French Special Forces bomb Rainbow Warrior.
1991:: Greenpeace Support peaks at 4.8 million.
2001:: Death of David McTaggart in a car crash in Italy.

At the same time, it is worth mentioning that Greenpeace has lost prominent supporters because some members assert that it is not radical enough. It has been accused of links to Earth First!, an eco-terrorist group infamous for sabotaging logging expeditions, claims which it has denied. However, one of Greenpeace's more notorious splinter groups was set up by Paul Watson, a founding director of the movement and member number seven. Watson left Greenpeace in 1977, believing that its nonviolent direct action did not go far enough to protect the world's oceans (it is also alleged that he was expelled from the group for attacking seal hunters). Instead, he formed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. His new organization adopted an array of militant tactics, including the cutting of drift nets, ramming whaling ships, attacking commercial fishing operations, and even bombing fishing vessels.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Greenpeace Marks Bombing Anniversary

The 20th anniversary of the bombing of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour will be marked on 10 July.

The bombing, carried out by French secret service agents, was an attempt to sabotage the 1985 Greenpeace campaign against Pacific Island nuclear testing.

The attack resulted in the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and the death of crew member Fernando Pereira, a freelance photographer.

The event hurtled Greenpeace into instant global celebrity and ensured that Rainbow Warrior Mark II became an enduring icon of the environmental movement.

DIRECT ACTION

Andy Booth, former Greenpeace UK campaign director, remembers the day well: "At the time, we were planning a direct action against the Drax power station in Yorkshire, as part of our international campaign to stop acid rain.

"We used to sleep in the office during busy periods and it was in the middle of the night here when the news first broke.

"Back then, Greenpeace was a small organisation and everyone knew everyone. We were a close group of people who cared deeply about the deteriorating state of the world and everyone wanted to make a difference.

"We were young, believed right was on our side, and felt almost invincible. The sinking and Fernando's death shook the organisation to its core. It brought home the life and death nature of the campaigns we were waging—but for most of us, it only served to strengthen our resolve."

Captain of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985 was Pete Willcox, who has job-shared the captaincy for over 24 years.

Today, moored for the weekend in the New Zealand fishing port of Nelson, Greenpeace gets a mixed reception from the locals, many of whom are fishermen dependent on their employers' use of bottom-trawling—which Greenpeace wants to ban.

But nothing too scary: "Bared buttocks and paint bombs we can live with," says Mr Willcox.

Asked about the events of 20 years ago, Mr Willcox describes how the noise of the first bomb woke him in his cabin and his immediate thought was a collision at sea—until he remembered they were berthed in Auckland harbour.

"I looked out the porthole, saw the lights on the dock and relaxed. Then the generator stopped, there was a silence followed by the shattering of glass as the water burst in."

As Mr Willcox called for everyone to get up on deck, there was a second explosion—a French mine detonated so close to Pereira's cabin that the photographer was probably knocked unconscious and drowned in the fast-rising water.

The Warrior listed grotesquely, held up on one side by its mooring ropes. Willcox gave the order to abandon ship and a stunned crew stood on the wharf watching the Rainbow Warrior spewing diesel oil and air bubbles.

CREW ARRESTED

The police arrested the Greenpeace crew, believing they must be behind the bombings. But at dawn, as soon as divers inspected the boat's hull, it was clear that mines had been attached externally.

Within days, fingers pointed at France and its desire to stop the planned "Pacific Peace Flotilla."

The Pacific Peace Flotilla was a fleet of protest boats to be led by Rainbow Warrior on a voyage to the Pacific island of Moruroa, to protest against French nuclear weapons tests.

France, who initially denied any involvement, later admitted responsibility.

Today, Greenpeace lobbies on many fronts—climate change, the oceans, ancient forests, genetic engineering, toxic chemicals, nuclear weapons, sustainable trade are all the focus of current campaigns.

Mr Willcox says he feels as strongly about these issues now as he did 24 years ago.

On bottom-trawling, he asserts: "Greenpeace is absolutely not anti-fishing—we want as much fish as it's sustainable to catch—we want our grandchildren to eat fish. But it's clear to me that we need to back off from the ocean and give it time to recover. History says fishing companies will fish a species to extinction if you let them."

Mr Willcox says he is proud to be captaining the Warrior as it takes a break from deep sea adventures to attend commemorations in Auckland.

In 1985, Fernando Pereira's body was laid to rest in New Zealand's Matauri Bay. It is there that the Rainbow Warrior will be on 10 July for a ceremony to honour Mr Pereira.

A benefit gig by New Zealand and Australian bands has also been organised for that night. It is expected the events will attract Greenpeace campaigners from all over the world.

Mic Dover

Source: BBC News, 2005

It was also the London-based Greenpeace splinter group that, in 1986, waged a campaign against McDonald's, criticizing the restaurant chain on a number of issues, including the destruction of the Amazonian rain forests, cruelty to animals, and its labor policy. McDonald's sued the activists for defamation, leading to the so-called "McLibel" trial, the longest in British history. A judge awarded in McDonald's favor, but awarded only token damages after finding key elements of the activists' case correct.

Whether these two examples could be regarded as the actions of "extremists" is purely subjective, but in both cases their methods went beyond what Greenpeace regarded as acceptable.

In recent years, Greenpeace has tried to make inroads in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Its recent campaigns have included opposition to the war in Iraq, President Bush's proposed Star Wars program, raising awareness of renewable sources of energy, opposition to nuclear energy, GM foods, and a renewed campaign to save the rain forests.

PHILOSOPHY AND TACTICS

Greenpeace is an international environmental organization that propagates nonviolent direct action to raise awareness and as a means of protest. It states in its 1983 pamphlet, the Greenpeace Philosophy: "Ecology teaches us that humankind is not the centre of life on the planet. Ecology has taught us that the whole earth is part of our 'body' and that we must learn to respect it as we respect ourselves." Its philosophy also draws on the Quaker tradition of bearing witness to raise awareness and bring public opinion to bear on decision-makers. It is naturally leftist, although it has never—in its recent history, at least—propagated any sort of Marxist interpretation of environmental issues.

Its direct action has manifested itself in a number of ways. Its most famous protests have been seaborne: intercepting whaling missions or disrupting nuclear tests, but these are generally exceptional and its activists are more prolific on a local basis. Its network of international, national, and regional offices means it can organize a protest on a micro level, yet also give global exposure to it.

Its huge "supporter" base, although currently forty percent down, gives it massive financial clout relative to other environmental organizations. At the same time, it refuses corporate donations, stating that it refuses to be compromised by such munificence, although it has accepted large sums from prominent business figures and celebrities.

OTHER PERSPECTIVES

In an article in Forbes in November 1991, entitled "The Not So Peaceful World of Greenpeace," published shortly after David McTaggart stepped down as Greenpeace boss, Leslie Spencer (with Jan Bollwerk and Richard C. Morais) criticized the organization's lack of accountability and accused it of cleverly manipulating the world's media. "Outfits like Greenpeace attack big business as being faceless and responsible to no one," the authors argued. "In fact, that description better fits Greenpeace than it does modern corporations that are regulated, patrolled and heavily taxed by governments, reported on by an adversarial press and carefully watched by their own shareholders. There's little accountability for outfits like Greenpeace. The media treat them with kid gloves. Press Greenpeace and it will reveal that McTaggart's salary was $60,000, but it won't say anything about any other forms of compensation—something a U.S. corporation would be compelled to reveal in its proxy statements…."

"Greenpeace campaigns, like the save-the-whale one, often seem open and almost spontaneous. But they are carefully orchestrated, beginning with a network of investigators who collect tips from government officials, truck drivers and sympathetic employees at corporate targets of Greenpeace antipollution campaigns…. This much is clear: With its network of contacts, Greenpeace has turned itself into a vigilante group—vigilant in enforcing antipollution laws, but acting as judge and jury whenever it decides that government enforcers aren't forceful enough. That little of this is widely understood is not surprising. A sympathetic press has always been a Greenpeace ally…."

Although some environmentalists criticize Greenpeace for its relative conservatism, to many in the green movement they are heroes who brought the environmental cause into the political mainstream. Writing in Satya—a magazine of "vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal advocacy, and social justice"—Paul Clarke celebrated the organization for sticking to its nonviolent campaigning and for its enduring role.

"From it's [sic] very beginnings, Greenpeace has committed itself to a confrontational, no-compromise approach to dealing with international environmental problems in a strictly nonviolent manner," he wrote. "The way the organization dealt with issues such as nuclear testing and commercial whaling seemed unsettlingly non-conformist—even revolutionary—when compared with the activities of the more established conservation organizations, such as the Sierra Club and the Audobon Society … The conservation establishment, who had achieved much of their work through cautious compromises with large corporations and governments, worried that Greenpeace would bring the entire environmental movement down in disgrace with its crazy stunts; some of that uneasiness still lingers in the modern environmental movement. But, as the mainstream groups, corporations, and governments quickly learned, the use of high-profile actions and demonstrations coupled with taking international environmental issues to the streets seemed to produce results: the known annual harvest of whales dropped from 25,000 in 1975 to less than 300 in 1993, and in recent weeks an international agreement, heavily lobbied by Greenpeace and backed up by very successful boycotts in Europe, was passed by the International Whaling Commission, creating a whale sanctuary around Antarctica."

"… [A]s Greenpeace continues to re-examine its approaches to accomplishing as much as possible in a rapidly changing world, there will always be one other constant: even if the research is ignored, the grassroots lobbying unsuccessful, the decision makers unsympathetic, there is always the certainty that Greenpeace activists will not give up. For after every other avenue is exhausted, there is still no building, smokestack, bridge, or boat that is completely impervious to the hanging of a colorful banner or the dramatics of nonviolent civil disobedience as Greenpeace activists work once more to bear witness to the world's most threatening international environmental dangers."

SUMMARY

As Greenpeace approaches its fourth decade, it has had a significant impact on a wide range of environmental issues from nuclear testing to whale hunting, and (in Europe, at least) genetically modified food. Greenpeace continues to employ direct actions and protests, but remains committed to nonviolence. Although it has suffered a considerable drop in supporters since 1991, this reflects a global decline in membership of political and pressure groups. Greenpeace still claims 2.8 million members.

SOURCES

Books

McTaggart, David. Rainbow Warrior. Munich: Goldmann, 2002.

Weyler, Rex. Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists and Visionairies Changed the World. New York: Rodale, 2004.

Web sites

Guardian Unlimited. "Interview with Simon Tindale: What Happened Next?" ?http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1118794,00.html? (accessed October 12, 2005).