Greenpeace News

Pirate of the Pacific busted by Greenpeace

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We caught an illegal tuna purse seiner (Queen Evelyn 168) in the Pacific Commons on Friday. This Philippines-flagged vessel was close to the transfer of tuna between her sister vessel and a refrigerated mothership. It was likely that transfer of fish at sea, involving this illegal vessel, was about to occur. But upon our arrival the vessels immediately separated and fled.

Fishing out the Pirates of the Mediterranean updated

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Just a few days into our three-month “Defending Our Mediterranean” tour, and already the Arctic Sunrise has come face-to-face with pirates. In the early hours of the morning, we confiscated almost two kilometres of illegal driftnet, containing dead, undersized bluefin tuna - and a small sea turtle.

Safety of GM Crops? Alarm bells ring for European Commissioners

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The GM food industry suffered another serious setback today as European Commissioners overturned the verdict of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), who had given assurances that three new types of GM crops were safe. For the first time, Europe's most senior lawmakers are publicly doubting the safety of GM crops.

CCS not going to save the climate

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As the seventh annual Carbon Capture & Sequestration conference gets underway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Greenpeace has launched 'False Hope' - a report critically examining the status and promise of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The conclusion is that, despite what the coal and power industries claim, CCS will not prevent more than a whiff of global warming pollution from reaching the atmosphere in the next few decades.

Greenpeace frees ocean life from Pacific longliner

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Greenpeace ship Esperanza freed tuna, sharks, marlin and an endangered sea turtle from a Taiwanese longliner on Saturday. The vessel was fishing in the Pacific Commons, the international waters we want to see protected as a marine reserve.

Good Unilever palm oil statement

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Despite insisting a week ago that they wouldn’t be bounced into taking action, Unilever boss, Patrick Cescau performed a swift about turn today and announced that his company is supporting our call for a moratorium – a complete halt – on rainforest destruction in Indonesia.

Defending our Mediterranean tour launches

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Mediterranean Sea is a global treasure. Rich seagrass meadows and rocky reefs dominate its coastal zone while an awe-inspiring array of underwater mountains (seamounts), cold seeps and trenches are found on its seabed.

Greenpeace discovers new species in threatened Bering Sea

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our research voyage to the Bering Sea has led to the discovery of a species of sponge new to science. Using state-of-the-art manned submarines to explore the world's deepest underwater canyons the new sponge was collected in samples of never before seen life from the Bering Sea floor.

Nuclear power belongs in the past

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It is now the 22 anniversary of Chernobyl explosion, the largest civil nuclear disaster ever. Serious contamination spread over 150 000 square kilometres in Byelorussia, Ukraine and Russia. Radioactive clouds deposited radiation thousands of kilometres away. Hundreds of thousands people had to be evacuated, and millions more were left to live in areas that were dangerous to their health and lives.

Brussels Seafood Expo - business closed!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"Ladies and Gentlemen your attention please, the Dongwon, Mitsubishi, Moon Marine, Azzopardi and Ricardo Fuentes stalls are now closed." That was one message being relayed over the public address sound system at the Brussels Seafood Expo today, as Greenpeace closed down the stands of five tuna suppliers - including the world's largest, Mitsibushi.

Paradise lost for soap and ice cream

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Are you a "green" consumer? Even if your intentions are good, your "Earth friendly" soap and organic ice cream may be driving species to extinction and heating up the planet, especially if these products contain palm oil.

Unilever's 'Monkey Business' - Greenpeace swings into action

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It's been a busy morning for Greenpeace activists across Europe, many of whom have been dressing up as orang-utans to draw attention to Unilever's "monkey business". Today, we're launching the next stage in our campaign to protect the rainforests of Indonesia from the expansion of the palm oil industry.

Time's running out for tuna

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Tuna stocks in the Pacific are running out due to overfishing from illegal and commercial fishing fleets.

Mister Splashy Pants and friends

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

He may be the most famous humpback whale in the world but Mister Splashy Pants has lots of less famous friends too, all of them named by our supporters around the world.

Bush's lame duck climate 'plan'

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

President Bush has tried again to make the world believe that he will rectify his shameful record of ignoring, denying and fuelling climate change. He's announced that by 2025, the US will stop increasing its emissions. Yes, for another 15 years the country that has spewed more emissions into the atmosphere than any other country on Earth will continue to emit more and more.

551 whales too many

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After five months at sea, the Nisshin Maru arrived in Japan today having taken around half the number of whales from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary as planned, but still 551 whales too many.

Brazilian authorities seize illegally logged Amazonian timber

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Brazilian environmental agency seems to have finally woken up to the problem of illegally logged Amazonian timber leaving their shores.

A Match Made in Car Industry Heaven?

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We bring news of one of the biggest weddings of the year, between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

From Italian coal "Banditi" to lauded "Ecopacifisti"

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In a rare case of judicial farsightedness an Italian court has thrown out injunctions against 12 of our volunteers who took action against Italy's most polluting coal power plant. The court ruling even stated that the protest was 'justified due to the danger the coal plant to the local area'.

Amazon destruction for Soya halted - for now

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Despite a recent increase in deforestation in the Amazon, there is a glimmer of hope that the destruction can be halted.