In the Greenpeace office, staff have developed a bad habit. We take our seats, switch our computers on and click on the bookmark to the National Snow and Ice Data Center website. Today was like any other day, except that today the extent of sea ice melt surpassed that of 2007, the lowest year on record. The plummeting line on this seemingly innocuous graph shows that the Arctic has already lost more ice than ever before in recorded history - and it’s still melting. Across the office it was met with a sharp intake of breath.

Just 30 years ago, the Arctic Ocean ice cap covered an area roughly the size of Australia. Within a few decades, it will almost certainly disappear completely in the summer months.

Back in June when we launched the ‘Save the Arctic’ campaign Paul McCartney ...

This message was sent by our campaigner Dima Litvinov who is on-board the Arctic Sunrise in the Pechora Sea…

"Root out the black shame from your heart, calmly and indifferently, I covered my ears with my hands" A. Akhamtova
Anna Akhamtova is a famous Russian poet, and the name of the ship we were stopping today.

 After a rather quiet and calm weekend we decided to pay Gazprom another visit again this morning.
 
Here is a quick drawing of how the platform is organized in its day-to-day life: half of the work force does not sleep on board. They live on a chartered  passenger ship, the Anna Akhmatova, which is anchored near the Prirazlomnaya. Every morning at around 5AM this ship heaves anchor and backs up to the platform, where its tied up by mooring lines. A sleepy mass of morning-g... Read more >

>>> UPDATE: New action is under way, read more. <<<

Prirazlomnaya.

It’s certainly a mouthful, but it’s also the new name – and face – of Arctic destruction today. This giant Russian platform is set to be the first to try and commercially produce offshore Arctic oil anywhere on the planet.

Make no mistake: the Russian oil industry is not one to be trusted. Currently, on land in the Komi Republic, 30 million barrels of oil are spilt every year.

This is why today, at 70 degrees North in the Pechora Sea, activists are occupying this monster platform and preventing it from drilling.

Read Kumi's open letter to the people of Russia: Read more >

"Dear Russian friends,

You may be aware that this morning at approximately 4am, five activists and I scaled the Prirazlomnaya oil platform to take pe...

As lawyers and witnesses give evidence to the judge in the Tauranga District Court, Te Whanau a Apanui fisherman Elvis Teddy sits among a war of words.

He’s facing serious charges for a peaceful act of defiance protecting his ancestral fishing grounds from the Brazilian oil giant Petrobras.

In 2011 Petrobras began conducting seismic surveying in the Raukumara Basin off the East Cape of New Zealand in preparation for its planned deep sea oil exploration there.

Greenpeace, alongside local iwi Te Whanau a Apanui, took to the sea in a six week-long flotilla, demanding that Petrobras stop its reckless plans to drill in the deep water in the Raukumara Basin.

Aboard one of the boats in the flotilla - the iwi-owned fishing vessel the San Pietro - Elvis Teddy and his crew (including te Whanau a Apanui... Read more >

We’ve blogged before about how incredible and important the Ross Sea is, but you really have to see it to believe it. And now you can!

The Last Ocean film is a documentary directed by Peter Young, one of the country’s leading nature cameramen and a key figure in the international movement to protect the Ross Sea.

It played at the NZ film festival throughout the country to critical acclaim. And is now showing in general release. Here's the official trailer:

The Last Ocean film tells the story of people around the world as they race to protect Earth's last untouched ocean.

And before you go, send a message to the NZ Government now asking for comprehensive protection for the Ross Sea.

There's more information about The Last Ocean project here: http://www.lastocean.co.nz/ Read more >