Yesterday in Amsterdam, I was served with an urgent fax from Shell, the world’s wealthiest oil company, whom in the past weeks Greenpeace offices have been vigorously and prominently campaigning against in the Save The Arctic drive. The notice was a stern message from Shell lawyers, who are very worried that Greenpeace actions around the world this week “have posed a real risk to Shell retailers... and the general public.” The letter concludes with a warning about commencing “proceedings” against us, at 'any' time in the future.

I don't know about you, but to me there is an incredible irony in being accused of posing risk to the public that seems to have escaped Shell and its lawyers. After all, Shell is a company that itself, in the last week, completely lost control of a mass...

The Future we Want is nowhere to be found in the already agreed Rio+20 outcome text, which world leaders are now rubber stamping and Greenwashing. The spin cycle has begun. At the same time some 20,000 people marched on the streets of Rio in protest with an air of despair but clinging to hope.

Host President Dilma Rousseff’s rhetoric could not be further from the reality of the tragic missed opportunity of the weak deal being agreed in Rio. Her grand sounding adjectives describing the result as involving “courage, ambition, responsibility and urgency” are totally dissonant with the lack of commitment, targets and cash put on the table here.

The two summits on sustainable development happening in Rio right now could not be more different. The Peoples’ Summit is buzzing with hop... Read more >

We’re at a critical stage in our journey as activists. As a movement we’re easy targets, and we’ve endured all manner of strife along the way. Today in many countries we face serious political and legal challenges, designed to punish and discourage dissent; designed to have a deliberate ‘chilling’ effect. At such times I am greatly encouraged by those who refuse to be bowed or deterred. I think of Gandhi, whose campaign mantra keeps us warm and resolute: ‘First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.’

Today, on World Environment Day, I’d like to pause and reflect on where we are as a united effort, that in my view, is still standing ever strong. On what do I base such a claim, which I know some would dispute? Well, echoing Gandhi, Salvador D... Read more >

The Internet and social media are extraordinary engines of change helping to drive revolutions and positive social change. They’ve become central tools for how we bring pressure on polluters and governments. But if we are not careful, the Internet could become an internal combustion engine that fuels climate change instead.

To avoid that scenario, there is at least one more revolution the Internet must fuel: a clean energy revolution. Read more >

Tech companies like Google, Facebook and Apple operate much of the Internet on ‘the cloud’ – the infrastructure that holds an increasing amount of the files, photographs and videos we store and share.

In reality, the cloud is a vast network of warehouses called data centres, some so large that they use as much electricity as 250,000 European home...

What would you do with $1,738 billion (US dollars)? If you were told you had to spend it this year on making people safer, what would you spend it on? 

$1, 738bn is how much was spent on the world’s military last year, according to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI).

With expenditure on military being one of the few areas not facing massive government cut backs we should ask: is our world becoming a safer place? 

What consolation can be sought in the world’s awesome military might by the parents of the 7.6 million children under five who die each year, mostly in developing countries?  

What consolation is it in a world where 925 m people do not have enough to eat, 98% of whom live in developing countries? What peace does it bring them? 

In a worl... Read more >