Staring out at the bright, open, broken plains of Arctic sea ice back in September, more than once I was struck by the thought of the early explorers who first trekked across similar icescapes at both of the frozen ends of the planet. My first time stepping down onto the floating Arctic ice was exciting enough; hard to comprehend what it was like for those  who were pushing the boundaries of where humans had previously explored.

But beautiful as it may be, seemingly endless expanses of ice and water are also seriously inhospitable - underlined in those famous words of the British exploring legend Captain Robert Falcon Scott.

"Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.... Read more >

In the history book of bad ideas, the concept of giving corporations the right to censor the Internet has to rank among the worst ever.

But that's what the impact of two bills recently introduced in the US Congress would be if they, or anything like them, were enacted into law, and it's causing a righteous ruckus among free speech activists around the world.

In solidarity with major sites like Wikipedia, Boing Boing, and Reddit, the Greenpeace International website will be dark for 12 hours on the 18th of January to protest these two bills specifically, and the idea of empowering internet censorship in general.

If you don’t know what SOPA and PIPA are, you should look them up. While touted as  efforts to curtail film and music piracy, they have the potential to allow corporations ... Read more >

Another bit of fun from the Brussels motor show today: an award presented by Lord Vader himself for jeopordising the future of our planet.

Together with a squad of stormtroopers, Darth Vader interrupted a speech given by Ivan Hodac, general secretary of the car industry lobbying body Acea. The dark lord presented Hodac with a gong for his achievements in blocking propressive car efficiency legislation in Europe.

Listen to Darth Vader's speech below and tremble with fear. Read more >

After months of being on the verge of breaking up, the container ship the Rena has finally split in two, and the stern has sunk. This draws to an uncertain close another chapter in the Rena saga.

The Rena has left a real mark on our national consciousness. It also left a very real mark on the Bay of Plenty coast. The Bird Recovery Centre estimates that so far up to 20,000 birds have been killed by the Rena’s fuel oil. The death toll amongst other wildlife, like whales, seals and fish, will likely never be known. Fishing and dive tour operators have been hit hard by the accident – the Rena hit one of the Bay’s best diving spots.

Ironically however, the Rena’s legacy could be a positive one. The sight of just a fraction of the Rena’s oil washing ashore on the region’s delicate coast has... Read more >

2011 was the year the bottom shook the top, the year the ballerina danced on the bull, and “The Protestor” was named Time Magazine person of the year. The faces in our Year in Pictures pay testament and tribute to our contribution and to the benefit of standing up and taking action.

2011 was a year of incredible turmoil and of enormous triumph, demonstrating what is possible when people stand up for what they believe in.

In 2003, in the run up to the war in Iraq, Time argued: “There are two forces in the world today – US military power, and world public opinion”. For nearly a decade the second super power, global public opinion, has been dormant, but it's now woken and Time asks ‘Is there a global tipping point for frustration?’

The answer is yes! And that tipping... Read more >

This was APP's Senepis Tiger Sanctuary, until one of APP's suppliers cut down the trees. Image: Eyes on the Forest/WW Indonesia

Asia Pulp and Paper – parent company of New Zealand's Cottonsoft brand and the company doing so much to jeopardise the future of Indonesia's rainforests – has done some pretty stupid things in the past. But pulping the trees in its own tiger sanctuary is astonishingly dumb.

And yet that's exactly what APP has done. A case study in a new investigative report documents how APP’s Senepis Tiger Sanctuary is subject to aggressive deforestation by one of the company’s wood suppliers. This is the very same heavily-promoted sanctuary that APP shows to clients and media as an example of its conservation efforts in Indonesia.

The report, The Truth Behind APP’s G... Read more >

November 29, 2011 - Greenpeace Netherlands activists march with a four meter high replica of the Rio de Janeiro Christo Redendor statue from the biggest square in The Hague - the 'Malieveld'- to the Brazilian embassy.

The new forest proposal was passed by the Senate last week, and was set to be voted on this week by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Brazil’s... Read more >