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As John Key scowled his faux-indifferent disdain at the nation wide banners on the beach protest against oil drilling a couple of Saturdays ago, a few things were betrayed.

We’re very close to the site where Texan oil giant Anadarko want to drill, around 110 nautical miles off the west coast of New Zealand. November’s warming sun in our eyes, the stinging salt water on our faces and the whiff of sun cream in our noses say that summer’s on the way.

This week, a flotilla of yachts will be leaving our shores and heading out to the deep waters off the coast of Raglan. Their purpose: to protest at Texan oil giant Anadarko’s plans to drill an exploratory well in our backyard.

A lot has changed in the more than 40 years since Greenpeace started out in Vancouver. From a small group of people with a driving passion for the environment, we've grown into a worldwide movement.

Deep sea drilling will soon commence in the rough waters off the NZ coast. This could mark the beginning of an oil rush in which democratic process, public concern, environmental protection and safety considerations are all swept aside.

  Across the centuries and across cultures, the albatross has captured human imagination. They are just one of the iconic seabirds found in the rich waters surrounding New Zealand. Together…

Oil companies and the Government need to be more open about the potential effects of an oil spill, writes Greenpeace's Simon Boxer.