FAQs

You can read all about whale species and the threats to them at the whales pages.

Whales are mammals, just like human beings. You can read about why this is an important difference at the link below.

We get many requests at Greenpeace for help with general school reports about pollution and other environmental issues. We wish we could help each of you individually, but we try to keep our staff focussed on the tasks that people donate to Greenpeace for: to win campaigns for the environment. Don't forget that you can search through all the information at the Greenpeace site.

Whale strandings often end sadly because of well-intentioned but uninformed help. Flippers can be easily damaged by trying to move a whale back into the water. Whales can suffocate if their blow holes are obstructed. A whale on dry land's biggest danger is overheating: keep them cool and wet but DON'T obstruct the breathing through their blowhole. Get a qualified marine biologist to the scene as soon as possible. Call your nearest University or the Coast Guard for help. Greenpeace does not run a stranded whale rescue programme. We apply our limited resources to stopping the greatest threats to all whales:commercial whaling and the thinly disguised pirate whaling by the Japanese and Norwegian fleets. We wish we could help with every whale stranding, every case in which whales are in trouble anywhere in the world, but of course with our tiny fleet of four ships and little more than a thousand staff all over the world, we have to leave that job too their groups and other experts in local communities. Our role is to save the most whales we can by challenging the whalers on the high seas with our ships, to call the world's attention to the continued senseless killing, and to pressure the world's governments to create Whale Sanctuaries and better protection mechanisms through international law. Please visit our oceans web site to learn what else you can do.

We are all part of the environment and what we do to the environment, we do to ourselves. Take a look at Greenpeace Canada's "Living Green"

In all but a few exceptional cases, Greenpeace works on a global scale and does not address individual pollution sites one by one. Greenpeace has limited resources and so chooses to focus on major threats to ecosystems and species -- we simply don't have the ability to address destruction at all levels. For local issues, we have to count on people like you who care and are willing to fight for what you believe. We can send you our support and best wishes, and advice on creating a community campaign from our colleagues at Greenpeace Australia.

We can encourage you to seek help and advice from our community of cyberactivists many of whom fight local battles against polluters in communities like yours. And we can offer you advice on how to run a campaign from one of our former colleagues.

You can also search through the Greenpeace archive for information about the particular issue you're trying to solve.

Good luck: there's No Time to Waste.

Greenpeace doesn't address animal rights issues at a local level. We campaign for habitat protection and to stop the greatest threats to the natural world. You can contact the largest animal rights organisation in the world, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

You are never too young to make a difference in protecting our planet, and you are never too old to have fun! Visit our games page. Take a look at the animated story of whales and you can also dive with the whales! Learn more about how you can help save the ancient forests at our Kids for Forests website.

We don't. We can't. This is precisely one of the dangers of releasing Genetically engineered plants in the wild. In some countries, there are restrictions on how closely genetically engineered crops have been allowed to be planted to normal crops, but there's no conclusive proof that these measures are effective. On the contrary, there's growing evidence that you simply can't segregate crops in the wild.

Cross-breeding isn't the only threat to organic food presented by genetically engineered plants. A strain of corn has been created by Monsanto which produces its own pesticide.Unfortunately, the pesticide it produces is one of the only organic deterrents to insect infestations, and one commonly used by organic farmers. But as with antibiotics, the more prevalent a toxin the more likely organisms are to build up a resistance, and Bt Maize, as it's known, is likely to end the effectiveness of one of the few natural pesticides available to organic farmers.

Greenpeace opposes all releases of genetically Engineered organisms into the environment. Such organisms are being released without adequate scientific understanding of their impact on the environment and human health.

This genetic pollution is a major threat because genetically engineered organisms cannot be recalled once released into the environment. Governments are attempting to address this threat by international regulations such as the Bio safety Protocol.

Because of commercial interests, the public is being denied the right to know about genetically engineered ingredients in the food chain, and the right to avoid them. Greenpeace advocates immediate interim measures such as labelling of genetically engineered ingredients, and the segregation of genetically engineered crops from conventional ones.

While scientific progress on molecular biology has a great potential to increase our understanding of nature and provide new medical tools,it is no justification to turn the environment into a genetic experiment. Biological diversity must be protected and respected as the global heritage of humankind, and one of our world's fundamental keys to survival.

Greenpeace also opposes all patents on plants, animals and humans,as well as patents on their genes. Life is not an industrial commodity.When we force lifeforms and our world's food supply to conform to human economic models rather than their natural ones, we do so at our own peril.

You can read an introduction to the issue of genetic engineering and an explanation of some of the risks in our genetic engineering area.

Though the US government portrays Star Wars as purely defensive, key nuclear weapons nations such as China and Russia actually see it as an offensive initiative. They fear Star Wars would render their current nuclear arsenals obsolete; they would be unable to retaliate to a US nuclear attack. If Star Wars goes ahead they will feel compelled to increase their own arsenals as a counter measure.

"The more improvements that are made to the shield, the more improvements are made to the sword. We think that with these [anti-missile ] systems, we are just going to spur sword makers to intensify their efforts."

French President Jacques Chirac.

There are many reasons why the Missile Defence programme is a dangerous plan.

Nuclear power creates poisonous waste, fuels the nuclear arms race, and threatens the health and well being of communities thousands of miles away.

It's also not a solution to greenhouse warming. Creating nuclear fuel is a hugely energy-intensive task. When you sum up the CO2 emitted by the mining, milling, processing, and transport of nuclear fuels,there's no significant savings on carbon output. This was why the framers of the Kyoto protocol rejected efforts by the nuclear power industry to allow carbon credits for nuclear power. You'll still see this fallacy trumpeted in advertising by the nuclear industry, but you won't find a reputable climate scientist who is convinced by the ads. (British Nuclear Fuels spends more on advertising than Greenpeace's entire annual budget, by the way!)

You can read about all the reasons Greenpeace opposes nuclear power at our nuclear campaign section.

Or learn more about clean energy at our climate website

Greenpeace is concerned about protecting the greatest reservoirs of terrestrial biodiversity -- the last remaining ancient forests. We don't have any opposition to responsible, sustainable forestry practices outside those areas. Read more about our policies on forest protection in our forests section.

To apply for a position as a crew member on one of our ships, send a CV to:

List any marine certificates you possess, and specify as many skills as you can. Do you speak several languages? Are you a certified diver?A professional cook? A wonderful musician? A photographer, videographer, carpenter, plumber, or engineer? Is your passport current and what's your availability?

We are always looking for motivated,skilled and experienced crew but as you can imagine we also receive many applications each day. Give us as much information as you can, and good luck!

Take a look at our job vacancies and there are also job vacancies listed on our national office sites.

There's lots of ways you can help. You can find out about jobs with the organisation and with our national office sites. You can also contact your local Greenpeace office to find out if you can volunteer. You can become a financial supporter if you are not already.

Log in regularly to the Cyberactivist section of our website to participate in Greenpeace online campaign activities.

Add something to the sig file on your email with a campaign message and a link to a cyberaction. If you make your message really interesting or funny or provocative and change it regularly, people will read it and follow the link. This way, every time you send an email to a friend, you ask somebody else to join in an action.

Make your own newsletter -- ask your friends to sign up and create a distribution list. Send them all or part of the Cyberactivist newsletter and add on other environmental actions from other websites.

Do you have a website of your own? Put a Greenpeace banner up. See a site where you think a Greenpeace banner belongs? Ask the webmaster to post one, and send him or her the link above.

Visit relevant newsgroup and chat rooms and ask people if they've taken action yet. Talk up the issues and get others informed and involved --send them links to e-cards, petitions, and other on-line actions.

Keep your community space home page here at the cyber centre updated with action resources or links to local issues so other cyberactivist scan help with things happening in your own town.

Got a local issue that needs attention? Create your own cyberaction and ask the cyberactivists here to help. There's some great information about how to create a campaign at CampaignStrategy.org and Greenpeace Australia's guide to community activism.

Know something about computers? Help a friend make the Cybercentre or other Greenpeace page the home page on their browser, so they get Greenpeace news every time their browser starts up.

Download a screen saver by looking here and install it on your computer. If you have access rights, install one on the computers at your school, work, or library to remind others of environmental issues. Make the home pages there point to a Greenpeace issue you care about as well.

You'll also find tips for everyday actions you can take for a "greener" lifestyle here at our Greenpeace Canada site. Oh, and don't forget the power you have every time you buy something. Every time you purchase a product, you vote for that product. Are you voting for products which are friendly to the Earth? Are your friends?

Supporter Services at Greenpeace International runs the membership service for our supporters who live in countries where we do not have an office. Join Greenpeace International today. You might also meet other Greenpeace supporters from your country in our Facebook page.

If you have a query about your donation, please send an email to ">, stating your name and address and supporter ID (if you know it).

It is also possible to send your donation by post. Cheques or postal orders can be sent to:

Leaving a bequest to Greenpeace is a positive and effective way of leaving a legacy of a healthy, peaceful planet for future generations. If you would like to receive information on how you can leave a gift to Greenpeace International in your will, please contact Tamar Matalon at ">

Log in regularly to the Cyberactivist section of our website to participate in Greenpeace online campaign activities. You'll also receive a free newsletter via email with plenty of options for helping win environmental campaigns with Greenpeace.

Add something to the sig file on your email with a campaign message and a link to a cyberaction. If you make your message really interesting or funny or provocative and change it regularly, people will read it and follow the link. This way, every time you send an email to a friend, you ask somebody else to join in an action.

Make your own newsletter -- ask your friends to sign up and create a distribution list. Send them all or part of the Cyberactivist newsletter and add on other environmental actions from other websites.

Do you have a website of your own? Put a Greenpeace banner up. See a site where you think a Greenpeace banner belongs? Ask the webmaster to post one, and send him or her the link to our banner's page.

Visit relevant Facebook and chat rooms and ask people if they've taken action yet. Talk up the issues and get others informed and involved -- send them links to e-cards, petitions, and other on-line actions.

Keep your community space home page here at the cyber centre updated with action resources or links to local issues so other cyberactivists can help with things happening in your own town.

Got a local issue that needs attention? Create your own cyberaction and ask the cyberactivists here to help. There's some great information about how to create a campaign at CampaignStrategy.org and Greenpeace Australia's guide to community activism.

Know something about computers? Help a friend make the Cybercentre or other Greenpeace page the home page on their browser, so they get Greenpeace news every time their browser starts up.

Download a screen saver by looking here and install it on your computer. If you have access rights, install one on the computers at your school, work, or library to remind others of environmental issues. Make the home pages there point to a Greenpeace issue you care about as well.

You'll also find tips for everyday actions you can take for a "greener" lifestyle here at our Greenpeace Canada site. Oh, and don't forget the power you have every time you buy something. Every time you purchase a product, you vote for that product. Are you voting for products which are friendly to the Earth? Are your friends?

Greenpeace is an independent,campaigning organisation which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace's goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity.

In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat.

The founders of Greenpeace believed a few individuals could make a difference. Their mission was to "bear witness" to the USA's underground nuclear testing at Amchitka in one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions.

A tiny island off the West Coast of Alaska, Amchitka was the last refuge for 3000 endangered sea otters, and home to bald eagles,peregrine falcons and other wildlife.

Even though their old boat, the Phyllis Cormack, was intercepted before she got to Amchitka, the journey sparked a flurry of public interest. The US still detonated their bomb, but the voice of reason had been heard.

Nuclear testing on Amchitka ended that same year, and the island was later declared a bird sanctuary.

Today, Greenpeace is a global organisation that gives priority to campaigns that can be addressed on a global scale. Based in Amsterdam,Greenpeace has 2.8 million supporters worldwide, and national / regional offices in 41 countries.

You can find out more about our history, at our 30th Anniversary page.

If you want to read more, there are several good books about Greenpeace: "The Warriors of the Rainbow" byRobert Hunter, "Journey into the Bomb" by David Mc.Taggart, and "The Greenpeace Story" by John May and Michael Brown. They can often be found at used book and auction sites such as Ebay , Amazon and Powells.

There's an old joke around the organisation that in any bar in Vancouver, Canada, you can find at least one person who claims to have founded Greenpeace.

In truth, many talented folks contributed to the creation of Greenpeace. Bill Darnell coined the name when someone flashed him a peace sign and he said "let's make that a green peace!" Bob Hunter created the concept of the "Media Mind Bomb" -reaching the public consciousness through dramatic, camera-ready opposition to environmental crimes. Jim Bohlen, Paul Cote, and Irving Stowe were the founders of  the "Don't Make a Wave Committee," which organised the first Greenpeace action: a voyage to Amchitka Island in the Aleutians to try to stop a nuclear weapons test. David Mc. Taggart convinced a half dozen loosely connected early groups to put aside their differences and join in a single worldwide organisation, creating Greenpeace International in 1979. Our main website contains lots more information about the founders of Greenpeace and our history and victories.

Bob Hunter, one of the founders of Greenpeace, tells a story in his book,Warriors of the Rainbow, about how this legend crossed his path.

On the first voyage of a Greenpeace ship, the Phyllis Cormack, Bob had taken on board a small book of Indian myths and legends that contained some striking prophesies. The book itself had been given himby an old wandering native American who had told him the book would"change his life" -- something which prompted a bit of cynicism in the Canadian journalist, who tossed the book into a box and forgot about it. But he stocked the Phyllis Cormack with reading material for the voyage, and one stormy evening he said the book literally jumped off the shelf into his hands, and he read it.

A chapter that particularly inspired Hunter related a story an old Cree Indian woman, 'Eyes of Fire' told to her great grandson. Just as they were being overthrown, The Cree Indian people foresaw a time when the white man's materialistic ways would strip the earth of its resources, but just before it was too late the Great Spirit of the Indians would return to resurrect the braves and teach the white man reverence for the earth. They would become known as the Warriors of the Rainbow.

The story circulated in Greenpeace for many years, and in 1978 our first ship, a rusting North Sea Trawler named the "Sir William Hardy" was rechristened "Rainbow Warrior."

As of January,2007, 2.9 million had taken out or renewed their financial membership within the last 18 months. Our financial supporters are the people who keep our ships on the oceans and our campaigners in the field. Millions of people around the world who take action with us every day as online activists or local groups, or as volunteers.

As of January,2007, 2.9 million had taken out or renewed their financial membership within the last 18 months. Our financial supporters are the people who keep our ships on the oceans and our campaigners in the field. Millions of people around the world who take action with us every day as online activists or local groups, or as volunteers.

To maintain absolute independence Greenpeace does not accept money from companies, governments or political parties. We're serious about that,and we screen for and actually send checks back when they're drawn on a corporate account. We depend on the donations of our supporters to carry on our non violent campaigns to protect the environment.

Our books are audited every year, in every office around the world, and we publish our Annual Report on the web every year so you can see exactly how much money we're given and how it gets spent.

There's a full list of countries where we have offices at our Worldwide Offices page. If there's no office in your country, you can write to .

It is just not possible for Greenpeace to have an office everywhere. We receive many requests every day to open offices all over the world.Like any other organisation Greenpeace has to work within a budget and we have to make choices about what we do. Our campaign work is targeted against the greatest threats to the global environment.

You can help us in many ways even if there's no office in your country. Visit Get Involved! page to learn more about what you can do every day to help Greenpeace win campaigns for the environment.

Opening a new office, or appointing a representative in a country in which we do not have an office, is an organisation-wide decision which has to be agreed upon by our International Board and approved by our international Annual General Meeting. Greenpeace does not adopt,incorporate or otherwise subsume existing organisations into its structure. Like every organisation, we have to work within our budget,and due to limited financial and human resources, we have to be selective in our decisions as to where to open new offices. Development or expansion is also subject to certain essential campaign criteria. We will only open a new office if this is in line with the strategic priorities of the organisation. Greenpeace has recently established an office in Africa. We are not planning to open any further new offices in the near future.

The name "Greenpeace" is an internationally registered trademark belonging to Stichting Greenpeace Council in the Netherlands, and therefore use of the name requires permission. Once a decision has been taken to open a new office, Greenpeace International enters into a licensing agreement with the new office, allowing that office to use the name Greenpeace. Use of this name is conditional upon fulfilling a whole range of obligations towards the international organisation.

We hope that you will not find this discouraging, and that you and/or your organisation will continue in its aims to explore environmental issues further. You can help Greenpeace in many ways - by volunteering your time or services to an existing Greenpeace office, or by getting involved as an online activist or joining our forum. You'd be surprised how much help we can use, even when an office isn't nearby.

The Greenpeace organisation consists of Greenpeace International (Stichting Greenpeace Council) in Amsterdam and Greenpeace offices around the world. Greenpeace currently has a presence in 41 countries. Greenpeace national or regional offices are licensed to use the name Greenpeace. Each office is governed by a board which appoints a representative (called a trustee).

Trustees meet once a year to agree on the long-term strategy of the organisation, to make necessary changes to governance structure, to set a ceiling on spending for Greenpeace International's budget and to elect the International Board of four members and a chairperson.

Greenpeace International monitors the organisational development of Greenpeace offices, oversees the development and maintenance of our fleet of ships, coordinates planning and implementation of our global campaigns, and monitors compliance with core policies.

The International Board approves the annual budget of Greenpeace International and its audited accounts. It also appoints and supervises the International Executive Director who, together with senior managers, and consulting widely with national office staff, leads the organisation.

Greenpeace does not solicit or accept funding from governments,corporations or political parties. Greenpeace neither seeks nor accepts donations which could compromise its independence, aims, objectives or integrity. Greenpeace relies on the voluntary donations of individual supporters, and on grant support from foundations.

Greenpeace is committed to the principles of non-violence, political independence and internationalism. In exposing threats to the environment and in working to find solutions, Greenpeace has no permanent allies or enemies.

To find out more about our Board and how Greenpeace makes decisions, visit our " How is Greenpeace Structured" page.

You can read all about whale species and the threats to them at the whales section.

We get many requests at http://www.greenpeace.org for help with general school reports about pollution and other environmental issues. We wish we could help each of you individually, but we try to keep our staff focussed on the tasks that people donate to Greenpeace for: to win campaigns for the environment.

I hope the following sources of information can point you in the right direction for help with your project:

Click here for information about overfishing, whales, and threats to our ocean environment.

Click here for information about Climate Change and Greenpeace's campaign to phase out fossil fuels.

Click here for information about toxic chemicals and what you can do to help ban them.

For information about the nuclear threat, including Star Wars, click here.

Click herefor information about Genetically Modified Organisms, and why we should all be worried about this massive uncontrolled experiment on nature.

Click here for information about threats to the world's last remaining ancient forests.

And don't forget that you can search through all the information at the Greenpeace site by going to our search page.

Whale stranding often end sadly because of well-intentioned but uninformed help. Flippers can be easily damaged by trying to move a whale back into the water. Whales can suffocate if their blow holes are obstructed. A whale on dry land's biggest danger is overheating: keep them cool and wet but DON'T obstruct the breathing through their blow hole. Get a qualified marine biologist to the scene as soon as possible. Call your nearest University or the Coast Guard for help.

Greenpeace does not run a stranded whale rescue programme. We apply our limited resources to stopping the greatest threats to all whales:commercial whaling and the thinly disguised pirate whaling by the Japanese and Norwegian fleets.

We wish we could help with every whale stranding, every case in which whales are in trouble anywhere in the world, but of course with our tiny fleet of four ships and little more than a thousand staff all over the world, we have to leave that job to other groups and other experts in local communities. Our role is to save the most whales we can by challenging the whalers on the high seas with our ships, to call the world's attention to the continued senseless killing, and to pressure the world's governments to create Whale Sanctuaries and better protection mechanisms through international law. Please visit our oceans web site to learn what else you can do.

We are all part of the environment and what we do to the environment, we do to ourselves. Take a look at Greenpeace Canada's "Living Green"

In all but a few exceptional cases, Greenpeace works on a global scale and does not address individual pollution sites one by one. Greenpeace has limited resources and so chooses to focus on major threats to ecosystems and species -- we simply don't have the ability to address destruction at all levels. For local issues, we have to count on people like you who care and are willing to fight for what you believe. We can send you our support and best wishes, and advice on creating a community campaign from our colleagues at Greenpeace Australia

We can encourage you to seek help and advice from our community of cyberactivists

many of whom fight local battles against polluters in communities like yours. And we can offer you advice on how to run a campaign from one of our former colleagues.

You can also search through the Greenpeace archive for information about the particular issue you're trying to solve.

Good luck: there's No Time to Waste.

Greenpeace doesn't address animal rights issues at a local level. We campaign for habitat protection and to stop the greatest threats to the natural world. You can contact the largest animal rights organisation in the world, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

You can also join our thousands of cyberactivists on line to discuss the environment and related issues by going to our cyberactivist centre.

You are never too young to make a difference in protecting our planet,and you are never too old to have fun! Visit our games page.

Take a look at the animated story of whales and you can also dive with the whales!

Learn more about how you can help save the ancient forests at our Kids for Forests website.

We don't. We can't. This is precisely one of the dangers of releasing Genetically engineered plants in the wild. In some countries, there are restrictions on how closely genetically engineered crops have been allowed to be planted to normal crops, but there's no conclusive proof that these measures are effective. On the contrary, there's growing evidence that you simply can't segregate crops in the wild.

Cross-breeding isn't the only threat to organic food presented by genetically engineered plants. A strain of corn has been created by Monsanto which produces its own pesticide. Unfortunately, the pesticide it produces is one of the only organic deterrents to insect infestations, and one commonly used by organic farmers. But as with antibiotics, the more prevalent a toxin the more likely organisms are to build up a resistance, and Bt. Maize, as it's known, is likely to end the effectiveness of one of the few natural pesticides available to organic farmers.