Skip navigation.

Dow is wanted for crimes against the planet

We are selling out our planet´s resources to the highest bider, it is high time we put some strict conditions on it. Enlarge Image

Who really rules our planet?

As government leaders meet in Johannesburg for the second Earth Summit, we have to ask why they are bothering. If you wanted to make some changes on Sesame Street, wouldn't it make more sense to invite the writers and puppeteers to meet, rather than just the puppets? The real environmental destruction today is done by multinational corporations, which can simply move operations if one government becomes too difficult. What international body oversees them, or sets rules for their behaviour, or holds them accountable when they transgress?

Exxon's Lee Raymond is WANTED for crimes against the climate. Enlarge Image

Exxon is wanted for outrageous crimes against the planet

Lee Raymond and Exxon are the Godfathers of corporate environmental crime. They have built up an unfathomable empire at the cost of our environment. They influence governments to get their own way, leaving the charred remains of international treaties in their wake. Their head honcho Raymond knows no bounds that money can’t remove.

Norman Askew, Chief Executive of BNFL, is wanted for crimes against the planet. Enlarge Image

BNFL is wanted for crimes against the planet and the people of Sellafield

Norman Askew, chief executive of British Nuclear Fuels has a skewed perspective. He is "delighted" by nuclear power expansion, even as people living around the Sellafield nuclear plant die from unusually high rates of cancer. Askew and government owned British Nuclear Fuels are also violating countries national sovereignty around the world as they ship plutonium through national waters against countries’ permissions. The warrant for their arrest is long overdue.

Hendrik A. Verfaillie and Monsanto are wanted for crimes of genetic pollution. Enlarge Image

Monsanto are WANTED for crimes against the environment

Long time corporate scoundrels Monsanto are WANTED for their crimes against the planet. It started innocently enough with the production of Agent Orange for military use in Vietnam. Then came PCBs and Dioxin. Now they are after our food. Their goal: global food supply domination.

Burial of an unknown child. This unknown child has become the icon of the world's worst industrial disaster, caused by the US multinational chemical company, Union Carbide. Enlarge Image

Bhopal disaster has no parallel in human history

It all began 18 years ago during the night of 2 December 1984 when 40 tonnes of lethal gases leaked from Union Carbide Corporation's pesticide factory in Bhopal, India. People just did not know what had hit them. There was no warning. Before anyone could realize the full impact of the disaster an area of about 40 square kilometres, with a resident population of over half a million, was engulfed in dense clouds of poison.

Living. Poisoned daily! Enlarge Image

Dow fights for its image, but not the victims in Bhopal

"Did you know... that Dow Chemical is responsible for the birth of the modern environmental movement?" So begins an internet spoof of Dow Chemical Company's smarmy public relations website which has caused a bit of a web sensation over the last few weeks.

Monica Gibbs lives next to a chemical plant in south Louisiana and needs to wear a breathing mask. She has suffered from respiratory problems since birth. Her town is part of the infamous 'cancer alley', so called because of the huge number of chemical refineries in the area and illnesses related to the pollution from the plants. Enlarge Image

Dodgy deals and irresponsible care

A recently leaked document has revealed the secret plans of the American Chemistry Council to trash anti-pollution laws in California. The internal memo, a proposal from PR firm Nichols-Dezenhall, outlines tactics such as the creation of phoney front groups and spying on activists to undermine pioneering laws that protect the environment. Unfortunately the Chemistry Council is just one of many industry front groups dedicated to making sure nothing interferes with corporate profits.

Celebrations on the streets of Bhopal. Now almost 20 years later all survivors will finally get meagre compensation. Full justice will require Dow Chemical to clean up the polluted site. Enlarge Image

Bhopal survivors continue fight for justice

India's Supreme Court has ordered the government to release millions of dollars in compensation for victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. This, and other recent positive developments, are good news for the Bhopal survivors but far from the end of their battle for justice. Our Indian campaigner, Shailendra takes up the story.

Go to your national site

World websites

GREENPEACE EMAIL

Sign up for international email updates
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Related news stories

Related campaigns