USA Staff Blog

California calls out Chicken of the Sea

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:51:00 +0100

Last Saturday, a group of blue-clad ocean lovers paraded around Orange Circle Antique Mall in Orange, California calling on Chicken of the Sea to drop their destructive fishing practices. The group was headed up by a bloody-mouthed mermaid and a life-size yellowfin tuna dancing to calypso music. Passersby and folks dining in outdoor cafes were given paper fish with the mysterious url tunasecrets.com. The paraders held signs like “Stop Pirate Fishing” and “End Ocean Destruction Now.” Several people asked to take pictures with the mermaid and tuna, although they had to stand between the two to keep the hungry mermaid from sinking her teeth into that tasty juvenile yellowfin.

This was the second mermaid parade to hit the streets of Orange County, and the latest in a series of carnivalesque marches in cities across the country exposing the destructive fishing practices of America’s major tuna supplier Chicken of the Sea. The company uses indiscriminate methods of fishing like longlines and fish aggregating devices. Countless sharks, billfish, baby yellowfin tuna, and juvenile bigeye tuna (a species listed as at high risk for extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature) are killed by their use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) with purse seine nets in the production of “chunk light” tuna. Thousands of turtles, sea birds, sharks, and other animals are slaughtered on indiscriminate conventional longlines in the company’s hunt for albacore – or “solid white” – tuna.

Hopefully the next parade will not be about the albatross, sharks, and sea turtles that are slaughtered in pursuit of tuna melts and tuna salad. Hopefully the next parade will be in celebration of America’s largest tuna company adopting more sustainable methods of fishing – FAD free purse seine nets and pole and line. Come on, Chicken of the Sea, be a responsible leader in your industry!

"If You See Something, Say Something"

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:54:00 +0100

Who has been waiting for a train, plane, or a bus and heard that? Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano hopes that you all have.

Tuesday morning aboard the new Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace launched a new online map that allows communities to see for the first time whether they live in the vulnerability zone of one of 483 high risk chemical plants, and then it allows them to say something to President Obama. Each of the plants puts 100,000 or more people at risk of a poison gas disaster by accident or terrorist attack. All together that's more than 110 million people, or 1 in 3 Americans.

Representatives from Center for Health, Environment & Justice, WEACT for Environmental Justice, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and NY Public Interest Research Group joined Greenpeace on our newest ship to support the launch and call on President Obama to eliminate these hazards.

While hundreds of plants across the country have converted to safer alternatives, proving that disaster prevention is feasible and cost effective, the large majority of the highest risk plants have done little. Luckily the President has the authority under the Clean Air Act to require these facilities to upgrade to safer technology and eliminate these hazards.

Greenpeace has joined with over 100 labor, public health, environmental justice, and public interest groups to call on the President to do just that. Find out if you are put at risk by one of these facilities then add your name to the petition to the President to ask him to protect you and the rest of the country from chemical disasters.

You can also read our Press Release.

Dump Duke Energy, Cleaner is Cheaper

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:36:00 +0100

Greenpeace flew an airship over Cincinnati today with banners reading “Dump Duke Energy” and "Cleaner is Cheaper" to highlight the opportunity the city has to switch to a cheaper, renewable energy provider.

For years, Duke Energy executives and their Wall Street investors have made millions of dollars on the backs of Ohio energy customers, while poisoning the air with coal fired power plants. Two of these old coal plants, Miami Fort and Beckjord, sit on either side of Cincinnati and have been pumping out pollution for the last sixty years. According to the Clean Air Task Force, the pollution from these two coal plants is responsible for 200 deaths, 313 heart attacks, over 3,200 asthma attacks and hundreds of hospital admissions and emergency room visits each year.

200 deaths per year. And that’s just two of Duke’s six coal plants in Ohio.

But all that could soon change. Last November, Cincinnati residents overwhelmingly voted to pass a ballot initiative allowing the city to pool its purchasing power and choose a new energy provider. (You can learn more about how communities in Ohio are coming together to negotiate better deals with energy providers in this report from Ohio Citizen Action.) Now, the Cincinnati City Council is considering what criteria to use when choosing a new energy provider, such as cost savings and renewable energy. Cincinnati could choose to require 100% renewable energy from any energy providers seeking a contract to supply electricity to the city. At a City Council hearing this past Monday, nearly every resident who testified urged the City Council to require any energy provider seeking to provide the city with power to use 100% renewable energy.

It’s a great opportunity to replace Duke’s dirty coal power with less expensive clean, renewable energy. While Duke Energy says that it wants to be a responsible, forward-looking company, it continues to rely on dirty old coal plants. If it wants to be Cincinnati's energy provider, Duke should be switching to renewable energy. Until then, Cincinnati should choose a new energy provider and the cleaner air, good jobs, and lower electric bills it would bring to Ohio.

Following SEC complaint, Greenpeace asks TransCanada for honest Keystone XL jobs explanation

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0100

TransCanada has some explaining to do.

Greenpeace just sent a letter to TransCanada's CEO, Russ Girling, as well as the company's board of directors asking for complete documentation of how it came to its inflated conclusions on Keystone XL pipeline jobs here in the U.S. That letter is posted in full below (click here to see it).

We are following up on a letter Greenpeace sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission last week noting that TransCanada's job claims per mile of U.S. pipeline are 67 times higher than the estimates they provided to the Canadian government for its portion of Keystone XL. SEC notified us that our complaint was sent to their enforcement division.

TransCanada has already bit back at our complaint, insinuating that Greenpeace doesn't know anything about pipelines. Perhaps TransCanada can explain why its existing Keystone pipeline leaked 14 times in less than 18 months when it anticipated a rate of 1.4 leaks per decade -- check out this infographic for descriptions of the first twelve leaks. Nebraska's ecologically sensitive Sandhills region and the Ogallala aquifer cannot be subject to TransCanada's insufficient pipeline safety standards, especially when that pipeline carries corrosive tar sands for almost 2,000 miles. And with well over 1,000 miles of pipeline proposed in our country, it's alarming that as little as 50 people may be employed to monitor and maintain it, as Cornell's Global Labor Institute suggests. Read the independent Cornell report yourself.

TransCanada has also boosted its employment statistics by equating one job to one full year of employment for one person. This is part of how TransCanada and its allies inflated State Department estimates of less than 7,000 jobs, while the Cornell assessment concludes that Keystone XL could kill more jobs than it would create. Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others are paying big for advertising campaigns that re-hash TransCanada's flawed 20,000 jobs claim, and from there claim hundreds of thousands of jobs from indirect employment. By indirect employment I mean services the oil industry isn't actually providing, which would would dry up after pipeline construction ends.

I'm not saying temporary jobs don't count--we need all the employment we can get, which is why it's a slap in the face to the American people for TransCanada to grossly exaggerate its employment promises as if it's on the campaign trail and building Keystone XL is the inauguration. Tell it like it is, TransCanada, citizens seeking employment don't need to be teased after the 2008 economic recession.

Unfortunately, the media is buying TransCanada's lies despite some reporting from the Washington Post and others that have already called the jobs numbers into serious question. According to Media Matters, 0% of broadcasters covering Keystone XL were critical of the jobs claims. Things weren't much better in coverage on cable news (11%) or print news (5%) either. Excluding USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, all major media outlets quoted more Keystone XL pipeline supporters than opponents. That's pretty bogus--Jack Gerard must have been popping the champagne over at the American Petroleum Institute headquarters as he put millions of dirty dollars to work through advertising campaigns like "Vote 4 Energy."

It's ridiculous although unsurprising that TransCanada and Big Oil act as if pipeline jobs are the only ones that exist. Why mention that any dollar invested in a polluting, outdated, climate-destroying industry is better invested in creating jobs in the clean energy sector? Big Oil would never be that forthcoming. They'd rather keep Americans fenced within the Kingdom of Crude, where not only are they the most profitable industry on earth, but taxpayers still pay handouts for their multi-billion dollar operations.

Greenpeace will continue demanding accountability from TransCanada and its Big Oil allies here in Washington, DC, and we'll let you know when we start getting some answers.

Letter to TransCanada CEO Russ Girling:

Dear Mr. Girling:

I read with considerable interest your company’s response to our request to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it investigate the possible illegal use of misleading and deceptive job claims to win approval for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would boost your company’s bottom line considerably:

“These groups have never built or operated a pipeline,” said company spokesman, Terry Cunha, to Politico.

Mr. Cunha is correct; Greenpeace has never built a pipeline funneling corrosive tar sands crude oil across the heartland of the United States, endangering America’s groundwater, and then selling the oil overseas. What we do have experience in, however, is examining facts. Your claims just don’t add up. How will your pipeline create 67 times more jobs in the U.S. than your company told Canadian officials it would in Canada?

Greenpeace calls for an end to destructive tar sands mining, which you must be aware is fueling global climate disruption and poisoning indigenous people in northern Alberta. Our opposition extends to projects like Keystone XL that aim to solidify continued decades of carbon pollution. I must admit that we probably won’t ever try to build something that will spill oil, threaten aquifers and create a several thousand mile-long terrorist target.

However, you clearly do have such expertise, both in building pipelines and watching them spill, as demonstrated by 12 reported leaks in the first year of your existing Keystone pipeline’s operation. That’s why I’m inviting you to (possibly) head off SEC action and significant public embarrassment by explaining how TransCanada created such contradictory job creation claims.

I invite you to provide a detailed, plain-language explanation of this remarkable difference in job creation rates. Several groups of people await this important explanation, including investors, dozens of politicians and pundits who have recycled your company’s fictitious job creation numbers, and SEC enforcement officials eyeing SEC Rule 10b(5) – Employment of Manipulative and Deceptive Practices.

Greenpeace also would appreciate it if you could direct your contractor, Ray Perryman, to give a detailed accounting of the assumptions and methodology of the calculations he performed for your company on the pipeline’s supposed benefits.

We’ll gladly post any detailed, credible explanation of this wide discrepancy in job creation numbers on our website.

Regards,

Phil Radford
Executive Director
Greenpeace

Cc: TransCanada Corporation Board of Directors
Sent by email, fax and direct mail.

Big Miracle -- A Whale Rescue Movie With a Deeper Message

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:53:00 +0100

This is a poor pun, but I can't resist -- I had a whale of time last Wednesday night at the DC premiere of Big Miracle, the new Drew Barrymore movie that features a family of grey whales as her co-stars. This whale of a tale (sorry, I can’t help it) is based on a true story that took place about 20 years ago. Greenpeace activist Cindy Lowry, played by Ms. Barrymore, worked to free an unfortunate whale family that didn’t leave its Arctic summer feeding grounds before the ocean began to freeze over. The whales became trapped five miles from open ocean -- a fate that would have meant certain death in the face of the approaching Arctic winter.

The movie is the inspired telling of how Cindy gets a lot of usually at-odds folks to cooperate: The US government, the Soviet Union, Big Oil, the townspeople of Barrow, Alaska, and the indigenous Inupiat community all set differences aside and quite literally save the whales. And while I may be giving away the ending, the real story is just how tough it is to get so many groups of people to find those precious points of understanding that allow them to come together for something greater. It gave me hope that we can certainly do it again.

Ms. Barrymore does a commendable job stepping in to Cindy’s role. My favorite scene is when she uses a bit of clever PR to corner both the US military and a big oil exec, a classic David vs. Goliath moment. That spirit of brains over brawn resonates through the film, which refreshingly reveals Greenpeace as an organization that understands the art of intelligent persuasion. I was half expecting the stereotypical “reckless activist” portrayal, but the film balanced our determination with our compassion; of course we love whales, but we also understand people.

That’s not to say there weren’t a few appropriately firey moments within the frozen landscape. An early scene features Cindy getting kicked out of an oil-lease auction after she demands that the Greenpeace bid be read. That kind of treatment still takes place today as our activists fight climate change, and look for opportunities to speak out wherever they can.

And while this is a heart-warming movie, I hope everyone who sees it leaves the theater with an awareness of some chilly reality. Most of the issues this film introduces are still very much at the top of our agenda today.

Greenpeace tirelessly fights against any and all drilling, and though we don’t object to native communities in the far north taking of a few whales for their survival, we continue to work toward ending all commercial whaling. You can join us by taking action now and asking President Obama to Save the Whales.

This film did a praiseworthy job demonstrating the positive power we, as humans, can generate when we work toward a greater good. It also made it clear that protecting those majestic animals is really a reflection of our commitment to our environment, to our planet, and -- ultimately -- to ourselves.

A great weekend for the Rainbow Warrior in NYC

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:39:00 +0100

This weekend I had the pleasure of experiencing Greenpeace’s newest ship, the new Rainbow Warrior, while it is docked in New York City for it’s first ever visit to the United States. I was brought on board the brand new sailing vessel to help introduce her to the public.

For two days I talked to hundreds of people from all walks of life. I showed people the ship’s completely unique design, introduced guests to crewmembers, and told why our ships are so important to the work we do. In many cases, I introduced children and adults alike to Greenpeace for the first time and got to explain how we go about defending the environment.

One of my favorite moments of the weekend came half way through Sunday when I gave a tour to several parents with children between the ages of 6 and 12. The kids looked around the boat in awe and scrambled to sit in the captain’s chair as the 3rd mate showed them how to navigate and sail. As I explained one of the Rainbow Warriors small jet boats to the tour a little boy raised his hand to ask a question.

“How many animals do you think you’ve saved?” he asked. I thought about that for a second and the only answer I could come up with was “a lot.” How do you help a child understand over fishing and deforestation, let alone climate change? I told him that we work to save all sorts of animals in the oceans from being killed by bad fishing practices and that we’re trying to stop rainforests from being burned down so that the animals can continue to live in them.

He listened intently and nodded as he considered what I was saying. Then he looked up, smiled and said “awesome."

Times Up! Bike Brigade Brings Supplies to Rainbow Warrior III

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:40:00 +0100

The Rainbow Warrior III, Greenpeace’s newest ship, arrived in New York City Friday morning after an 18-day journey from Europe. After the long trip the crew needed to replenish the food supplies on board so they called ahead to the 4th Street Food Co-op in Manhattan. To their delight, the co-op teamed up with a Time's Up! bike brigade to deliver the fresh produce when the ship arrived at Chelsea Piers!

Delicious fresh food is always a great way to start a stay in a new city, but having it delivered on bike trailers was an extra treat for the 15 crew members who have been living on board the ship. Thanks 4th Street Food Co-op!

Check out the co-ops blog for more information and photos of this special delivery!

Photo from 4th Street Food Co-op.

Now Arriving in New York, Greenpeace’s Legendary Rainbow Warrior

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:49:00 +0100

This morning around 9 a.m., a newly christened Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior sailed in to New York, completing its maiden cross-Atlantic voyage from Europe. If you’re in or near New York City, head down to Chelsea Piers, Pier 59 at 23rd Street and the Hudson River to see her up close. Official public tours will be offered tomorrow, Saturday 28th and continue on Sunday 29th January between 10am and 4pm both days. Private tours for groups can be arranged through Friday*.

This is the third incarnation of our famous vessel (some say infamous, but we take that as a compliment). The first was bombed by the French Navy in 1985. The second was retired on August 16, 2011.

The Rainbow Warrior is the first ship to fly the Greenpeace flag that was not converted from another vessel. She’s entirely purpose-built, specific to our global scientific research and environmental issue-awareness needs. She’s 190 ft in length and one of the world’s greenest ships. At full sail of 13,500 sq ft and a giant 180ft “A Frame”, she can outrun larger conventionally powered ships under sail alone.

In a living tribute to Greenpeace’s continuity of mission, today’s Rainbow Warrior is captained by Peter Willcox, who was at the helm when the first Rainbow Warrior was attacked. After leaving New York, the Rainbow Warrior, Captain Wilcox will sail her down the East coast, visiting Baltimore, Southport, Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg. From there, she’ll make her way to Brazil.

For more than four decades, Greenpeace ships have been both visible symbols of Greenpeace, and vital players in the pursuit of our campaigns. The Rainbow Warrior has blocked illegal timber shipments, confronted whalers, and hosted uncountable scientific experiments. She is in many ways both our most poetic symbol and our toughest front-line fighter.

We’re proud to know that her heroic legacy continues, and that the world’s oceans are once again home to the Rainbow Warrior.

*Please note that closed toed shoes are required aboard the ship and that, unfortunately, the vessel is not wheelchair accessible.

SEC to Investigate TransCanada's Lies on Keystone XL Job Claims

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:28:00 +0100

Today Greenpeace sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asking them to stop TransCanada Corporation from continuing to illegally mislead investors and the American public with wildly inflated job creation claims for its Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

TransCanada and its allies in Congress (TransCanada has spent $1.3 million dollars on lobbying for Keystone XL) have routinely used deceitful jobs numbers in their support of the Keystone pipeline, claiming that it would create 20,000 jobs in America. In reality the pipeline will create less than 1/3^rd that number, possibly far less according to studies by the EPA and Cornell University.

Furthermore, TransCanada knows its jobs claims are exaggerated. According to the company, the U.S. pipeline would create jobs at a rate 67 times higher per mile of pipeline than the rate given to Canadian officials for the miles of pipeline it would build in that country.

SEC rules forbid the use of "manipulative and deceptive practices" to directly affect the value of the company's stock. TransCanada CEO Russ Girling directly connected the pipeline’s approval with his company’s profits in an April 2011 earnings conference call, making his company’s manipulative and deceptive jobs data illegal according the SEC rules.

As Phil Radford, Executive Director of Greenpeace, said in a recent speech, "It’s wrong for politicians and pundits to use these false numbers, but it’s illegal for TransCanada to lie to investors. The SEC needs to take immediate action to hold TransCanada accountable for misleading investors to boost its valuation,” "TransCanada needs to knock off the propaganda and level with people that they'd create a few temporary jobs just to move dirty oil through our country so it can be shipped to Europe for maximum Big Oil profits."

Known Associates: Charles Koch, David Koch, Jack Gerard , Ken Cohen, Rex Tillerson , Stephen Miller , Tim Phillips

The big picture behind ‘Big Miracle’

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:41:00 +0100

“This is Campbell Plowden, Whale Campaign Coordinator for Greenpeace. I’d like to let you know that the Soviet Union is going to send two icebreakers to help clear a path for the whales trapped in Alaska.”

24 years ago Greenpeace found itself caught up in the midst of a Cold War drama, as the American and Soviet governments came together to rescue three gray whales trapped in the sea ice off the Alaskan coast. The amazing story has been transformed into the feature film ‘Big Miracle’ by Universal Studios, starring Drew Barrymore as a Greenpeace activist.

To get the inside story on what really happened we got in touch with Campbell Plowden, who, in 1988 was head of the Greenpeace USA Whales Campaign. In a fascinating extended account, Campbell, now working to protect the Amazon with Amazon Ecology describes one of the craziest weeks in his 14 years with Greenpeace, and puts the Alaskan drama in the context of a wider campaign to end Icelandic whaling.

“I realized on the spot that we had no choice about whether or not we wanted to accept this incident as a natural event or ignore it as a distraction. Dealing with it had just become our mandate; I had to give it my best shot and try to use the opportunity to also save a lot more whales around Iceland.”

While the movie focuses on Barrow Alaska, Campbell's account takes us behind the scenes. He describes how Greenpeace engaged the Soviet Union, and how we pressured the Reagan Administration to put the health of the whales ahead of national politics.

“President Reagan was not known for his love for the Soviet Union, and the idea of asking this Communist giant to send one or more of their ships into U.S. waters to help save whales seemed absurd. ” ... “Greenpeace, however, had its own channel into the Evil Empire”

The rescue ended up requiring the combined efforts of the Alaskan National Guard and Coast Guard, the Inuit community in Barrow Alaska, Greenpeace, oil company Veeco, the Reagan Administration and the Soviet Union.

If you’re planning to see the film - and don't want to know what happens in the story, be warned, Campbell's account contains plenty of spoilers.

Also: here's a video report from James, our man at the movie premiere: