Enviro & Global

Turning dredged sludge into glass cubes is a proven way to remove hazardous waste from Superfund sites. Here is how it could be used to clean up the Gowanus Canal.


Superfund - Gowanus Canal - Hazardous waste - Dredging - United States

Waldermar, captain of the Esperanza, writes about his personal motivations for bringing the ship to the Arctic... 

I'm from South America, the land of the Incas, the Guaraníes, the Wichis, the Tobas, the Mapuches, the Onas, and other native nations.

The Europeans came about 500 years ago promising progress and wealth. They came for the natural resources. The gold, the silver, the iron, the fish and finally the oil. And they took it all...

The settlers took over the land, they brought their own people to exploit, manage and administrate their adventure. They imposed their religion and culture, and their view of what progress, happiness, development and wealth are.

At the beginning of the 20th Century my ancestors came to Argentina as part of a wave of migration from Germany, Poland and Italy. They came with the promise of "hacer la América" (do the Américas), which meant getting rich fast and returning to the Motherland. But they never left, they were also cheated.

Since the white man’s arrival, there have never been decent jobs available for the natives, and so their population has decreased near to extinction. Nowadays, the remaining Argentine natives are marginalized, they are poor, sick and isolated and have lost their land forever. Does this seem familiar to you?

I have a very strong impression that oil will not bring nirvana to Greenland. The Arctic is one of the last frontiers for the energy giants. I understand Greenlanders desire prosperity, but I doubt that Greenlanders will constitute the workforce for the oil industry and fear that they will loose their traditions and livelihood. And that’s before I have even mentioned the likelihood of a disastrous oil spill like in the Gulf of Mexico.

I refuse to be part of what my ancestors did in South America. I belong to a new generation - to the people of the 21st Century - to a higher level of consciousness. This is why I came to the Arctic with the Esperanza - to push for a different way of looking at unexploited areas of Earth and to stop oil exploration in one of the last frontiers.

I believe we can end our addiction to fossil fuels, grow up and evolve.

I believe we can move beyond oil.

--Waldermar

Image: Waldermar talks to the operations manager of the Stena Don oil rig just before a group of Greenpeace climbers boarded the rig to shut down Cairn Energy's drilling operations in the Arctic. Ben, comms officer on board, stands in the background.  © Greenpeace/ Will Rose

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

By every measurable factor, biodiversity is up the creek with no sign of getting a paddle any time soon. International attempts to reverse the downward trend of species numbers through the Convention on Biological Diversity have failed, and the goals set by the CBD for this year have been missed.

As my colleague David Ritter notes on Global Policy: "This dismal assessment is of course not the fault of ... the CBD itself, but the parties to the Convention, namely the nations of the world. Indeed the CBD is an institution of obvious weakness, hostage always to national capitals and wider power politics. The CBD possesses no power to compel compliance or punish non-compliance."

Yet it would be absurd to give up the hope that something other than cockroaches and Japanese knot weed will be saved from the bonfire of the species we've ignited and fuelled. So the Biodiversity 100 campaign is an excellent opportunity to attempt something practical.

The idea, as explained by George Monbiot, is to compile a list of practical steps individual nations can take to stem the loss of biodiversity under their jurisdiction, outside the unwieldy architecture of international agreements. It's a rallying cry, a challenge and an affirmative action all in one. And everyone can contribute.

Use the form on the Guardian's website to submit your bright ideas which should be challenging and ambitious. No easy measures here, we need to think big. And ideally, it should be backed up with solid peer-reviewed science so provide references if you can.

If you're stuck for an idea to submit, here are a few we prepared earlier which would go a long way to helping our various campaigns. You'll need to select which country is responsible for taking action, so you could submit an idea asking:

• all Arctic countries (the US, Canada, Russia, and various EU ones) to impose a moratorium on oil drilling in the frozen north, where a spill would be disastrous for whales, narwhals, dolphins, polar bears and bird breeding colonies and take far longer to clear up than in the Gulf of Mexico;
• EU countries to implement a 'no take' (ie no fishing) policy for the most commercially endangered species in European waters, such as Atlantic bluefin tuna and North Sea cod;
• the UK and other EU countries to ban bottom and beam trawling in their national waters which would reduce the amount of bycatch and help safeguard marine ecosystems such as cold water coral reefs and hydrothermal vents;
• while we're at it, they could ban fish aggregating devices as well which contribute to the overfishing of many fish species;
• EU countries to add a penalty system to the illegal timber legislation recently voted through the European parliament, so there are proper disincentives to importing timber which has been produced by destroying the rainforests of south-east Asia and central Africa;
• and one for Indonesia: extend the proposed moratorium on deforestation and peatland clearance to include existing concessions granted to palm oil and paper companies like Sinar Mas, not just new concessions.

The preservation of one species or ecosystem does not compensate for the loss of another, but that doesn't mean we can't step in where the CBD has so spectacularly failed. Here's an opportunity to change that.

Great news - Britain's wind farms generated record levels of power on Monday, providing 5 per cent of all power supplied to the National Grid over course of the day.

The Grid confirmed that 40.5GWh out of a total 809.5GWh was provided by wind farms over the 24-hour period, with wind output peaking at 1,860 megawatts at 8.30pm.

A National Grid spokesperson confirmed that, including direct output from turbines not conected to the grid, "about 10 per cent of total electricity demand would have been met by wind power. It is a pretty big landmark for the industry."

At its peak, the wind industry was producing the same amount of electricity as three nuclear power stations. This is further evidence that the grid can deal with large-scale inputs from intermittent energy sources like wind farms.

But, before getting too excited, we should remember that wind power in Britain still lags way behind our EU neighbours such as Spain and Germany. On the 8 November last year Spanish turbines generated 53.7 per cent of the nation's daily energy supply - equivalent to the input of 11 nuclear reactors.

Britain is currently a world leader in offshore wind power, but the industry still needs serious government backing to turn plans for a huge expansion programme into reality. The comprehensive spending review in October and the Energy Bill expected in November will be real tests of the coalition's commitment to be the 'greenest government'.

BP released a 193-page report on the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The document specifies eight key failures in design, equipment and procedures that led to the oil spill; BP takes responsibility for only one of those failures.


Transocean - Deepwater Horizon oil spill - Deepwater Horizon - BP - Gulf of Mexico

The Northern Lights above the Esperanza © Will Rose / Greenpeace

We had a fairly quiet weekend on board the Esperanza - especially compared to the "all systems go" mode we were in last week during the action. Yesterday Babu, our wonderful cook, had a well deserved day off and some of us volunteered to prepare brunch and dinner in the galley for the rest of the crew.

Brunch was served at 12 and we were treated to a feast of scrambled eggs, fried green tomatoes, baked beans, sauted potatoes and piping hot mushrooms. This was all made by Jon and Leila, our two climate campaigners, and Will - our photographer - who was rewarded for his efforts with a bloody head. Poor Will banged and cut his head on the extractor fan over the stove.

You might expect our photographer to get 'wounded in action' but we all take many safety precautions and prepare for our actions so well that we're more likely to fall over a shoe while trying to get into our bunk bed or walk into the extractor fan in the galley while cooking eggs. That's my observation at least. I have a colourful collection of bruises from losing my balance every time I am in the shower and red fingers after burning my hand while trying to make a cup of tea.

For dinner, I helped Leila and Luke cook. Leila made a giant pasta bake, Luke made garlic bread and I made salads while we listened to music. Every time I help out in the galley I always walk away with even more respect for our cook than I had before. It is a humbling experience when you realise how difficult it is to cook for 35 people and deliver everything on time - without slicing off your fingers in the final five minute rush.

We have been heading south this weekend and crossed back over the Arctic Circle yesterday. Last night - after a beautifully sunny day we saw the sunset for the first time in what feels like an eternity. We were stuck in fog and overcast conditions at Cairn Energy's drill sites and almost forgot what sunshine looked and felt like. There's nothing better than sunshine to recharge your batteries - and I mean that both literally and figuratively!

At around 10pm we were finally able to see the northern lights dancing in the sky above us. I always expected them to be low on the horizon and reaching upwards from there but they went all the way across the sky - right over the ship. We watched them just like you would watch a firework display. Pointing with "ooh!" and "ahh!" and "WOW!" as the green streaks of misty light swirled around above our heads.

I saw a shooting star fall right across the Aurora and quickly snatched the opportunity to make a simple wish for our future. You can probably guess what it is but of course I can't tell you.

-- Lisa

Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, two Greenpeace activists known as the Tokyo Two, exposed widespread corruption in Japan's whaling programme, yet in return, they have been handed a one year suspended prison sentence.

However, despite the harsh punishment the two anti-whaling activists stood in court as heroes today, having successfully put whaling on trial, both in court, and in Japan's national media.

Junichi had this to say in response to the verdict:

"While the court acknowledged that there were questionable practices in the whaling industry, it did not recognise the right to expose these, as is guaranteed under international law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on which our defence was based, supersedes domestic criminal law, but the judgment did not properly take this into account." 

There will be an appeal for what is a totally unjust, politically motivated sentence. Junichi and Toru have taken great personal risks to investigate and expose embezzlement at the heart of Japan's tax-funded whaling industry, intercepting one of numerous boxes of whale meat embezzled from the whaling programme as evidence. These boxes were taken for private use by the crew of the Nisshin Maru in violation of the whaling programme's regulations, and this amounts to a misuse of public funds.

However, instead of investigating and arresting those behind the whale meat embezzlement scandal, Junichi and Toru were detained arbitrarily, forced to live under onerous bail conditions and then put on trial. After more than two years of political prosecution, the court has convicted them of theft and trespass, while the criminals behind the whale meat embezzlement walk free.

This conviction is bad news for the entire political culture in Japan, not least the role of organisations like Greenpeace in society; there's little doubt that the ruling signifies a major step backwards for the country's aim of gaining international reliability. The conviction is also part of a disturbing trend which has seen the authorities meeting peaceful and civil dissent with harsh and disproportionately severe punishments, narrowing the democratic space and discouraging people from speaking out.

Japan has already drawn criticism from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for its treatment of Junichi and Toru, and as Professor Dirk Voorhoof, an international law expert and defence witness in the case, said: "This conviction is very likely to earn Japan more criticism for its failure to respect its obligations under international human rights law."

Junichi and Toru are not alone in facing this verdict. Vigils are being held at Japanese embassies around the world and hundreds of thousands of people have already signed our petition calling for justice. The Toyo Two's case has already been taken up by Amnesty International, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and by celebrities like Bryan Adams and Benicio Del Torro.

Over the course of the trial, a lot has happened to shift public perceptions in Japan. Industry whistleblowers have continued to speak with Japanese media about corruption and wrongdoing in the whaling industry, interest in the story keeps growing, and in the last fortnight articles in major newspapers such as Tokyo Shimbun and Kyodo have covered the issue.

Japanese journalists are also not just increasingly interested in what's going on in the tax-funded whaling programme, but in what the Tokyo Two trial has to say on the question of freedom of expression and the rights of organisations like Greenpeace in their country.

We're standing with Junichi and Toru all the way and will make sure as many people as possible hear their story - and the positive impact their brave action is having.

You can stand by Junichi and Toru along with us - send an e-mail to Japan's foreign minister now.

-->

Sadly, all four of our climbers will not be coming back to the Esperanza after all. Jens, Sim, Timo and Matt are flying home to Germany, USA, Finland and Poland respectively. Their personal belongings are still on board and they are going home in spare clothes bought for them by friends in Greenland. I'm sure they'll be glad to see their families again but we're really going to miss them on the ship and we haven't finished our 'Go Beyond Oil' tour yet.

Yesterday we were hoping they would be back on board and Victor even made them a Welcome Home banner. I have sent them all the supportive messages people wrote us over the last few days by email so at least they can read those when they get home. The atmosphere on board feels very mixed. We're feeling pretty down about losing four of our crew who we all became friends with over the last few weeks. But we need to remind ourselves of what we have achieved as we say goodbye to our four heroes today.

Every minute they were up there occupying the rig was another minute Cairn Energy couldn’t drill. We want to stop them sparking an Arctic oil rush. And at the very least we've made it less likely they’ll strike oil this year before the winter weather conditions force them to leave the area.

We shut down drilling by taking action on the high seas, but if dangerous deepwater oil drilling is to be stopped for good then action also needs to be taken in the world's capitals. Our leaders need to take us beyond oil, to invest in clean energy solutions for the sake of the climate and the preservation of pristine environments like the Arctic.

Later this month, environment ministers from countries bordering the North Sea will meet in Norway, where Germany is proposing a moratorium on new deepwater drilling. We're backing Germany's call because we don't want to see another disaster, similar to that in the Gulf of Mexico, happen at new deepwater sites across the world. And we need to go beyond oil to protect our climate.

Our journey continues…

--Lisa. 

Image 1: (left to right) Jens, Timo, Sim and Matteo - waiting to be deported from Greenland today - wearing  clothes given to them by friends. © Greenpeace/ Sune Scheller

Image 2: The Stena Don oil rig in the Arctic - occupied by Greenpeace climbers for over 40 hours. © Greenpeace/ Will Rose

Image 3: Our four heroes getting some fresh air outside the police station yesterday while they were still in police custody.  © Greenpeace/ Sune Scheller

 

We are still waiting for our climbers to be released but hoping they will be back on board the Esperanza soon. They are sorely missed - especially Timo's lovely guitar playing in the evenings. Anais is talking about preparing a "Welcome Back!" banner for them and every time the captain or our campaign leader walks past we keep asking "any news?". The answer is still no. Nobody knows exactly when they will be out and perhaps they wont be allowed back to the ship at all.

Sim, Timo, Jens and Matt are truly heroes! I don't think I have ever witnessed such an amazing direct action in all my time with Greenpeace. Timo, Matt, Jens and Sim scaled the oil rig by climbing a structure that looked unclimable to me. When I look at the footage of their ascent - my jaw drops open in amazement. They spent over 40 hours up there - suspended above the churning Arctic waves through freezing winds and periods of loud noise from the thrusters that keep the rig in position. They kept themselves in good spirits throughout the occupation and never complained about the conditions they were in. We're so very proud of them for stopping Cairn's Arctic drilling for so long. They really stopped it for 40 hours - and that's quite an achievement.

While our climbers were on the rig and since they have been arrested - we have received some very touching messages of support from so many people. I've  been gathering them today so that I can show the climbers when they're back on board. I thought it would also be nice to share them here (see below) and say thanks to everyone who sent us these messages - and the others I haven't managed to copy yet. It means a lot to us to receive them and I have already printed off several pages of them and passed them around over dinner in the mess. I even saw our chief engineer reading them and watched his face light up with big smiles. And he rarely smiles so this is quite an achievement!

Thank you so much. I'll let you know more news on our heroic Arctic defenders when I have it.

-- Lisa

Timo and Matt on the Esperanza before the action. We want them back along with Sim and Jens!

Messages to the climbers via Twitter:

OwenJ92
Aug 31, 11:49pm via Web
@gp_espy keep it going! what you're doing is amazing, I've never seen a protest like it! stick to it!

Emmabob3
Aug 31, 11:23am via Twitter for iPhone
@gp_espy - Well done for your amazing/brave/inspiring action. You have my total support & best wishes ; )

jonesthelight
Aug 31, 11:27am via Web
@gp_espy All the very best with that and what a great way to start my day :)

GinniKipper
Aug 31, 11:39am via Web
@gp_espy Massive congratulations and gratitude for what you are doing for us. I'm still gathering followers on FaceBook :-)
wolf_hazel

Aug 31, 11:54am via Web
@gp_espy Well done guys for the work on Cairn Energy! Hang in there! I support you and wish you all the best!

r3to
Aug 31, 12:10pm via CoTweet
@gp_espy Spectacular action!! Well done! Hope you can stop Arctic drilling for good.

patrickolszo
Aug 31, 12:21pm via Echofon
@gp_espy - this is amazing work - keep going - we are all rooting for you! A global moratorium on oil drilling now #gobeyondoil

givepeasachance
Aug 31, 12:36pm via Web
@gp_espy Well done to all, we're all cheering you on back home! Keep up the good work guys and gals. Much love and solidarity xx #beyondoil

Lear88
Aug 31, 2:21pm via Web
keep up the amazing work in the Arctic @gp_espy. You continuously inspire change - where others would rather take it away. :) #beyondoil

JohnBaldy
Aug 31, 3:21pm via Web
Follow @gp_espy for an object lesson in both saving the planet and in making a twitter feed exciting. Big up Greenpeace!

kateogden
Aug 31, 3:25pm via Web
@gp_espy You guys are an inspiration! Stay safe! #beyondoil

mayhew60
Aug 31, 4:05pm via Web
@gp_espy I woke up with a smile today. You guys are doing a great job. It is time to send a message that oil is not the future

tennilesunday
Aug 31, 4:33pm via Web
I effing love greenpeace @gp_espy for working to shut down Cairn Energy's oil rig in the arctic. http://www.gobeyondoil.org

alisonjanehealy
Aug 31, 6:28pm via Web
@gp_espy Guys, keep up the amazing work. When right is on your side, then many things are possible

iXalapa
Aug 31, 6:46pm via Web
@gp_espy Great Job!!!! even with the navy behind you do the job !!! we are proud and surprise

Chelspresso
Aug 31, 8:15pm via Twitpic
@gp_espy http://twitpic.com/2jy774 - Beyond impressive. Keep up the good work, MUCH love and respect.

OwenJ92
Aug 31, 11:49pm via Web
@gp_espy keep it going! what you're doing is amazing, I've never seen a protest like it! stick to it!

celiaalario
Sep 01, 12:02am via txt
Rt @Greenpeace: Wishing our4activists occupying Cairn'sArctic oil rig&everyone onboard @gp_espy a good sleep! http://bit.ly/bys

mariamonica
Sep 01, 3:06am via Twitpic
@gp_espy http://twitpic.com/2k0d3y - I've no words now that I've seen your courage.I wish I could do something from here. Pls. take care.

350
Sep 01, 11:00am via HootSuite
If you're not following Greenpeace's @gp_espy, you're missing a helluva adventure in the fight against #oil in the Arctic.

Emmabob3
Sep 01, 3:27pm via Web
@gp_espy- Just thought I'd check in to say well done for stopping the drilling in the arctic for 24 hours. Go go go (but keep safe) ; )

daisystreet
Sep 01, 3:31pm via Saezuri
@gp_espy : Good morning, Esperanza! Enjoying the updates. Thank you for not only believing, but *doing. Take care. Stay safe. Be wonderf

AshleighF68
Sep 01, 4:25pm via Web
@gp_espy you guys are doing so well!! being brave enough to go against what others think! you have my total support :)

Lear88
Sep 01, 5:55pm via Web
Hang in there @gp_espy the world is watching in awe. Let's all make a wave. #beyondoil

gotsound
Sep 01, 5:55pm via Web
@gp_espy For the past week every morning I wake up feeling inspired after reading your live tweets from the arctic. Keep up the battle!

soup1531
Sep 01, 6:05pm via Web
@gp_espy Hold strong ya'll. We are all extremely proud of you. I will start collecting beer to feed you when you get back to SF Sim!

Sneakyboots
Sep 01, 7:44pm via Web
@gp_espy Sim, you lucky dog! I'd give anything to be hanging up there with you right now! Way to go, guys and girls..good on you!!!

engagejoe
6:48am via HootSuite
@gp_espy What a beautiful video of Anais. Her Arctic story brilliantly illuminates why I organize locally. http://j.mp/9Z0U

brianfit
9:14am via TweetDeck
@gp_espy Sending a virtual cup of piping hot coffee to climbers aboard the Stella Don. ♨ http://bit.ly/bysplt

IanMcL13
11:13am via Web
@gp_espy Thanks for your courage and your passion on our behalf

twinkle031
12:11pm via twicca
@gp_espy you did so nice things! I live in Korea now but when I grow up, I want to be a big help. keep going!!

Messages to the climbers on Facebook

Abi Ralls: HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sylvia Watson-Stewart: Well done, we're with you in spirit!

Therese Davis: YOU GUYS ROCK! Wish I was there helpin'

Talitha Mcintyre-Burnie: You are my heroes! xx

Tara Wales: So friggen Far Out!!! You guys represent me also, I am disabled, I couldn't do that. So you speak for me also and I thank you all!

Deborah Barrass: Good, brave people.Their actions will be remembered in our uncertain future.

Wende Anne Maunder: Sim - thank you so very much. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the courageous work you are doing. I wish I had a million pounds to help you with your campaign. Bless you! Bless Greenpeace.

Sergio De Benito Navarrete: I'm very proud of all these Greenpeace activists. Thanks to all of you, and please never, never give up. Planet Earth needs more people like you. Greetings from Spain.

Polly Pearshouse: I used to be a climber but not like that! Scary stuff - huge respect for what you're doing - thank you

Jean Loughlin: Yeah...RESPECT GUYS....I couldn't do it!!!

Julie Bird: Love to you all and the deepest respect

Scott McNeil: this is what it takes, bravery and courage and determination, well done greenpeace

Julian Padfield Paddy: Good on you guys wish i was there,.

Jackum Brown: Bravo! Go for it, guys, you all deserve medals

Jo Billups You guys make my day! :)

Christopher Brooks: you're amazing! love your style. With you in spirit

Jackie Taylor: I support u all the way Greenpeace, please take care out there xx

Sue Tait: Sending blessings and light to your vital and wonderful work x

Annastacia Fulcher: Brilliant news and everyone is just amazing for what you are all doing. Thanks for the phone call Lisa letting us know whats going on. I wish you all well and pray for your safety.

Barbara Tencynskaya: Hurrah!! Ignore the mindless critics, GO GREENPEACE! :-D

Brian 'Jones' Smart: Go greenpeace!! Save what is left of this beautiful planet of ours before the big corporations who only care about money ravage it into a unlivable pile of dirt and pollution!!

Dimitri Fache: I admire your courage!

Andrea Liane: totally amazing staying in the Arctic until it get to cold to drill. i am so very impressed with the commitment of everyone aboard You on board deserve mega medals, and thank you from all who care. I no u'll never give up.

Michael Callender: Go guys, the world supports you!!! Wish I could be there.

Rebecca Fowler thank u brave activists, u inspire me daily! NO ARCTIC DRILLING!!

Cathy Monkley: You're all doing an amazing job. I salute you - big hugs all round x

Gemma Dawn: so much respect for all you guys that hung off that rig!!!!

Tom Cohen: hang in there sim hope you have ear plugs sounds pretty loud under there,great anchor points thoughlooks made for you!

Sergio C Buitrón: If you were looking for a hero look no more.

Bonnie Marie Lindsay: SIM~YOU ARE AWESOME!!

Kyra Winn: love your work Sim and friends :)

Gregory Riley Now: THIS is the kind of DIRECT ACTION I pay for!!!

Katharina Dumrath: I hope the activists willl be okay and that there will be no severe repercussions. I understand why the police had to arrest them (they were trespassing), but I pray that they'll have the sense to release them with a slap on the wrist instead of making a huge deal out of it. We already have 2 activists facing prison sentences in Japan- we don't need any more

Sandy Wilson: What a strange world we live in. Those fighting for our planet are arrested whilst those killing it are let free. Good on you guys for putting your life on the line.

Didoo Hydi: You are really amazing guys.. keep on, we'll always support the cause till the end.

Maria Elena: nothing is so much less than 40+ hours

Luis Rivas: drill stopped turning! That's a result! Hope they are out soon :D

Ruth Daw I am glad the four brave activits are fine!

Saskia Morice: You amazing guys have all my support as well as thousands and thousands of other´s everywhere...We are with You! We love you so much for what you are doing in the name of our Mother Earth..Thank You!

Tamari Chi: greenpeace outshines politics and politicians. When the governments should be handling things, it takes special organizations to do their job for them.

Rakesh Prashara: Well done everyone, my thoughts are with the activists in custody. Our future depends on going beyond oil!

Denys Tsutsaev: good job guys!!!Well done!!

Jackey Caldwell: What you are doing today changes all our futures. Hang on in there.

Tim Hatcher: Hang in there guys (literally). All right thinking people of the world are with you.

Jean Loughlin: thank you !!!!!! for what you are doing ....you are doing it for so many people.....Bless you for your bravery!!!

Handing out sustainable seafood guides on the streets of Tokyo (c) Sutton-Hibbert/Greenpeace

There's a common comment in this part of the world, often repeated on the internet especially, about sorting out the seafood problem: namely, we have to change minds in Japan.

Whilst it's a simplistic generalisation, there is a lot of truth in that. Seafood is a global commodity and a global problem. The big markets for seafood are (perhaps unsurprisingly) North America, Europe, and Asia.

As an island nation, Japan is undoubtedly a place with a strong tradition of eating a vast array of seafood. We know too that Japan's demand for fish reaches around the world (of course, they are not alone in this). Most notably Japan is the key importer of the large tuna species (bluefin, bigeye and yellowfin), but the demand for sushi specifically, and seafood generally, also covers many other species from Patagonian toothfish to eels.

Greenpeace has had an office in Japan for over two decades. But it has taken until this year for Greenpeace Japan to be able to launch its very own sustainable seafood campaign. Building on the work we have done in other countries, our colleagues have unleashed their Susea (Sustainable Seafood) campaign onto the Japanese high streets.

The reception they've had has shown quite clearly how things have started to move on around the world. In the space of a few years, the world has started to wake up to the problems of overfishing and destructive fishing. Whilst, from a distance, we might like to assume Japan is just a part of the problem, as keen seafood eaters they are starting to realise too that they need to be part of the solution.

My Japanese colleague Wakao tells us that they have had a great reception both from customers, retailers and the media. In handing out seafood guides, some shaped like traditional Japanese fans, they gave the public graphic information of the problem species on the menu. And accompanied by a colleague in a sad-looking fish costume (called Fini), they took the message to the streets of Japan.

Sustainable seafood guide, Japanese style

Just as we have done in the UK, US and elsewhere, Greenpeace Japan is following this up with discussions with key retailers, especially the big supermarket chains like Aeon and Seiyu. At the same time, media reporting of the campaign has not, as might be expected, been dismissive and negative, but rather supportive and explaining the key issues Greenpeace Japan is concerned about.

Of course, much of the focus is on bluefin, the current poster-fish of unsustainability. The Japanese Government has set itself up as the would-be saviour of Atlantic bluefin - something we're keen to see come true at this year's ICCAT meeting in Paris.

But Wakao and his colleagues are also drawing attention to the plight of the more local bluefin species - Pacific bluefin. In that, they have an unusual ally in the artisanal, traditional fishing fleet. They have been fishing Pacific bluefin for years and know all-too-well that the massive purse-seining nets are a sure fire way to drive the species to the brink of extinction. After all, that has already happened to the bluefin's Atlantic cousin. They know too that creating protected areas for commercially-important species, especially in breeding grounds, is just plain common sense.

This is just the start for Susea and I'm excited to hear what happens in the weeks and months to come. But one thing is clear: the mood in Japan is changing. Let's hope that Susea can help push Japanese retailers and consumers the way seafood campaigns have in other countries.

After all, a global problem needs global solutions.

Junichi (right) and Toru (left) working on their defence during their trial (c) Sutton-Hibbert/Greenpeace

Two years ago, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki exposed a scandal involving government corruption entrenched within the tax-payer funded Japanese whaling industry. They are on trial for theft and trespass, and are awaiting the verdict due this coming Monday.

This will be the first blog Toru and I have written together, as up until recently our heavy bail restrictions have meant that we could not be in the same room or even talk to each other without a lawyer present.

The verdict in our trial is approaching, and on Monday 6 September we will know what our fate is. We don't really know what the result would be, all we know now is that it is going to show the status of Japanese democracy. It's a long way from where it was when this case started - our investigation  to end Japan's whaling.

Support the Tokyo Two

Help Junichi and Toru and join the online march for justiceIn early 2008, following tip offs from a whistleblower and a four-month investigation into the embezzlement of whale meat by the crew of the Japan's whaling fleet, we were closing in on evidence  that could finally end this whaling programme.

Annual protest actions in the Southern Ocean have raised awareness and created international outcry about this destructive and completely unnecessary hunt, however, it was clear that the only place Japanese whaling would ever be ended was at home in Japan. When we intercepted a box of embezzled whale meat, we knew we finally had the evidence to prove the corrupt nature of the industry and shut it down by bringing an end to its huge taxpayer subsidies.

We knew the industry would not go quietly, we didn't expect the harsh reaction that was to come. 

At the start the media strongly covered the embezzlement scandal, and asked serious questions about the industry for the first time. However, one month after we exposed the large-scale theft of whale meat and embarrassed the authorities, they struck back, and had us arrested, interrogated, detained for 26 days and finally charged with "theft" and "trespass".

The media were tipped off about our arrest and the raids of our homes, so when the images of our arrest appeared on national television the embezzlement scandal was dismissed and we were immediately seen as criminals by the public.

This has been our image for the last two years - until now.

In the last week alone we have seen three hugely positive articles appear in major newspapers around Japan. All of them detailed our trial and the flimsy, contradictory nature of the prosecution case against us, discussed the embezzlement and the rights of NGOs to expose wrongdoing, asked serious questions about human rights in Japan, and, finally, seriously questioned the legitimacy of the whaling programme.

We have come full circle and for the first time since the embezzlement scandal broke there is serious, positive discussion about the legitimacy of the whaling programme, and for once the arguments are not based on Fisheries Agency propaganda. Japanese society has changed and we are finding support wherever we turn.

On Monday the judges will hand down their verdict, and we are very much looking forward to it. We have proved our case, and anyone who looks at the facts with a clear mind can see that we should be acquitted, and that the official case simply does not stand up to even the most basic questioning.

That said, given Japan's harsh 99.8% conviction rate, we understand that our chance of a good result is low, so while we are optimistic that we have advanced civil society and put whaling on trial both in court and in the media, we are also anxious about our fate.

Our families and friends are with us all the way. They can only accept an acquittal as they know we have committed no crime. They want us to fight as hard as we can, and were very happy to see the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's support for our case, but there is a definite feeling that our argument is ten years ahead of Japanese society. This has been a difficult few years, and our actions have come at great personal cost, but we have to win for ourselves, for whales, for Greenpeace and for Japanese society.

We believe that this verdict is going to be a landmark for Japanese society. Aomori District court is being forced to make decisions in front of both the domestic and international audience whether Japan is ready to be a true democratic society, a society where citizens have the right to speak up in the public interests - or not.

Everyone we know is with us, and we could not have gotten this far without their and your support. We have finally kick-started the discussion about whaling, activism and civil rights that Japan desperately needs to have. Whatever happens on Monday, we know in our hearts that we did the right thing, and sooner or later, we will win this fight.

Support Junichi and Toru as they await their verdict - join our Online March for Justice for the Tokyo Two.

Three Mile Island, Challenger, Chernobyl—and now, Deepwater Horizon. Like those earlier disasters, the destruction of the drilling rig was an accident waiting to happen.


Deepwater Horizon - Drill Rigs - BP - Energy - Gulf of Mexico

This was the scene on the Esperanza's bridge as Luke called through to Sim on the Stena Don for the last time, as the climbers prepared to leave the oil rig. Apologies for the audio which is a bit fuzzy, but here's a transcript:

S: Esperanza, this is Alpha Climb, go ahead
L: Er you called us, over.
S: Oops, sorry about that. We just finished our last battery so this [radio] will be our sole means of communication over
L: Copy that, you will only be on VHF, only on VHF. The police on board have channel 67 to communicate with you. Please communicate with them when needed. Suggest you eat your remaining food, have a rest, and then slowly make your way out as and when the time is right, over.
S: Esperanza this is Alpha Climb, understand the police have channel 67 for communicating with us. Um, we copy that we should communicate with them to negotiate our exit.
L: Copy that, you should communicate with them and make your own way out. If you need assistance they are willing to assist you in any way necessary. If you need a line, please communicate with them directly as to where you want it, and make your way safely onboard.
S: Esperanza, Climb Team Alpha, understood, we will be standing by for that communication over.
L: Copy that, have a nice climb, out

Esperanza calls back:
S: Esperanza Climb Team Alpha, go ahead.
L: Yes, Climb Team Alpha, one more thing:We just want you to appreciate the mangnitude of the event you have undertaken. We are just approaching 40 hours, 40 hours of stopping drilling in the Baffin Bay area, please stand-by for one final communication from the Esperanza:
[Massive cheer erupts from the ship's crew]
Understood, over?
S: Esperanza, Climb Team Alpha, well understood! It has been truly a pleasure working with y'all and we hope to see you in the not very distant future! Over.
L: Indeed, we look forward to seeing you hopefully sometime in the next 24 hours. This is the Esperanza. Out.

The independent audit which Sinar Mas thought would absolve it of deforestation, peatland clearance and law-breaking is now exploding in front of its face like a firework in a munitions factory.

Greenpeace campaigners and supporters in the US have been demanding that Burger King drops Sinar Mas as a supplier until the group commits to ending deforestation and yesterday it did just that, announcing that "the report has raised valid concerns about some of the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas' palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest".

So now the evidence is coming in of how companies will respond to the audit (and the way Sinar Mas tried to conceal its findings by misleading customers, journalists and the stock markets).

Unilever said it wouldn't be reinstating Sinar Mas as a supplier until issues raised in the audit are addressed, but Burger King is the first big name customer Sinar Mas has lost since the audit was released and shows just how out of touch the Indonesian conglomerate remains.

While Burger King, Unilever, Nestle, Kraft and other companies want to avoid being linked to deforestation, Sinar Mas has continued destroying forests and draining peatlands. Our US colleagues are also working on Pizza Hut, KFC and Dunkin Donuts, asking them to follow in Burger King's footsteps.

In its announcement on its Facebook page, Burger King said:

"...the report has raised valid concerns about some of the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas' palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest. These practices are inconsistent with our corporate responsibility commitments.

"As a result, we have decided we will no longer purchase palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries.  We are in the process of transitioning to a new palm oil supplier for the 176 Burger King restaurants that were supplied by Sinar Mas. In addition, we are notifying our suppliers of our intent to discontinue the use of palm oil supplied by Sinar Mas in the manufacturing of our products."

As with all corporate commitments, there are still details to work out with Burger King. They need to explain how they're going to handle indirect supplies of Sinar Mas palm oil and whether their rainforest policy will be amended to include other commodities like pulp and paper. We'll also be asking them about how they're implementing existing commitments they've made in relation to sourcing their beef from the Amazon.

Ben writes about this morning's events from the Esperanza...

Well, that was dramatic. Yesterday afternoon, the seas started churning and our huge banner on the oil rig was twisting and flapping as a gale blew up. I spoke to the four activists under rig and they assured me they were fine. They had self-heating meals and water and were still doing interviews, telling the world about Cairn Energy’s plans to spark an Arctic oil rush.

I kept eyeing the scene through the porthole in my cabin with concern. The swell was heaving and the lips of the waves were breaking white across the stretch of sea separating the Esperanza from the rig. The weather forecast on the screen on the bridge looked ominous – lots of grim symbols over the coast west of Greenland – while a quick duck outside had my eyes watering with the cold.

Ending the occupation of the Stena Don was a big call for us. We’d stopped it drilling for oil here, while the other rig being operated by Cairn, the Stena Forth, was also closed down due to our actions. Think about that – because of the millions of supporters who let us operate our ships, four ordinary blokes from four different countries were able to come up here and put their bodies in the way of the Arctic oil rush, and they stopped it.

They didn’t just protest about it – they actually stopped it. The drills stopped turning.

But now a freezing gale has stopped us. Anybody who saw the images of our camp under the rig will appreciate how harsh the conditions were last night for the guys. When I radioed them and talked about the need to come down, they were disappointed the direct action was about to end but stunningly professional. Straight away they were working out how to get safely on to the platform gantry, where police were waiting for them (our guys obsess about safety, it’s a thing to behold, and is at odds with the image our opponents like to paint).

So they’re in police custody now. But before it was over I spoke to Sim McKenna from the United States. He’s been a star these past three weeks since we left London, and as ever he found the words at the right time, despite hanging under an oil rig over freezing seas as a storm rolled in.

"We stopped this rig drilling for oil for two days, but in the end the Arctic weather beat us. Last night was freezing and now the sea below us is churning and the wind is roaring. It’s time to come down, but we’re proud we slowed the mad rush for Arctic oil, if only for a couple of days.

"This beautiful fragile arctic environment would be decimated by an oil spill. The melting Arctic ice is a grim reminder that we need to stop burning oil and invest instead in clean energy solutions.

"I’m not sure what will happen to us now, but as soon as we can we'll be back to call for the world to finally go beyond oil. It is time for people everywhere to take a stand, to call on their governments to fight climate change, ban dangerous deep sea drilling and invest in clean energy solutions that will protect the world's fragile environments from cowboy oil companies like Cairn Energy."

-- Ben

BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

Today our lawyers sent a letter to the UK government threatening legal action over their decision to continue giving licenses for deep sea oil drilling even before we know for certain the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

We're asking the government to stop giving out these licenses for new offshore drilling and to carry out a comprehensive new environmental assessment into offshore oil. It's not just irrational to give out licenses without this new environmental assessment; we believe it's also a breach of European and UK law.

We want the UK to follow Obama's lead and introduce a moratorium on deep sea drilling. As the US Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salizar, said when introducing their moratorium: "A pause on deep sea drilling is essential and appropriate to protect communities, coasts, and wildlife from the risks that deepwater drilling currently pose… I am basing my decision on evidence that grows every day of the industry’s inability in the deepwater to contain a catastrophic blow out, respond to an oil spill, and to operate safely."

Our lawyers have a strong record. You may remember that they helped us to get the last government's nuclear and aviation policies changed.

This is just the first step in the legal process. If the government does not give us an undertaking within 14 days that it will stop the licensing and do a new environmental assessment, we plan to go to court.

Read how the story was covered in the Financial Times today.

Picture of Sim yesterday morning on the rig

It’s five in the morning Greenland time and the last few hours have been quite insane. Last night, with the Espy pitching and rocking, and cups flying all over the place, we knew we had to get Timo, Meteusz, Sim and Jens off the rig. The worst of the Arctic weather was closing in, and their tiny tents were not going to be enough to keep them safe.

Our friends had to climb up onto the rig. Due to the strong winds it took them a bit more than four hours to get up there, and when they did they were met by police and taken peacefully into custody.

Looking out of my porthole at the massive waves, and feeling the movements of the Esperanza, there is no doubt in my mind that they took the right decision. I hope and believe that this action will be remembered as the first step against our blind and reckless hunt for the last drops of oil on the planet. Our friends accomplished something amazing and showed the sort of courage and dedication that politicians and industry should learn from.

Before ending the occupation, Sim said this on the sat phone:

"We stopped this rig drilling for oil for two days, but in the end the Arctic weather beat us. Last night was freezing and now the sea below us is churning and the wind is roaring. It’s time to come down, but we’re proud we slowed the mad rush for Arctic oil, if only for a couple of days. This beautiful fragile environment would be decimated by an oil spill, while the melting Arctic ice is a grim reminder that we need to stop burning oil and invest instead in clean energy solutions. I’m not sure what will happen to us now, but as soon as we can we’ll be back to call for the world to finally go beyond oil."

While our four climbers have been arrested, our confrontation with the oil industry is gathering pace. Our colleagues back in the UK have just launched a legal challenge against deepwater drilling. We believe that the government's granting of new deepwater drilling licenses in the UK is not only irrational, but illegal.

I want to thank all of you for helping us do this important work -  from your letters to the UK government and Cairn to all your messages of support. Being able to confront the oil industry - out here in the Arctic waters and back home on land - is only possible because of your support. We don't take any corporate or government funding and that means we remain independent and able to challenge everyone in a position of power who is destroying our environment or taking risks with the health of our planet. We need your help to stop deepwater drilling and move the world beyond oil. Please make a donation today so that we can continue to campaign for a clean energy future.

I'll keep you updated as soon as I have any more news.

Thanks for all your support,

Lisa - on board the Esperanza

Watch Sim talk about his "relatively comfortable" night dangling off the underside of Cairn's Stena Don rig. Our four climbers are still on Cairn's rig, stopping the company from continuing its dangerous drilling in Arctic waters.

Read more at: www.GoBeyondOil.org

Our four climbers have spent the night in sub-zero temperatures, hanging off the bottom of Cairn's Arctic oil rig - the Stena Don. While we're attached to the rig, Cairn Energy can't continue their reckless drilling.

For live updates visit www.GoBeyondOil.org

Here's a video of how they scaled up the legs of the rig, followed by a quick interview with Sim - from the US - talking about why they're there.

Sleeping in tiny tents suspended from the rig, Sim is joined by Timo from Finland, Mateusz from Poland, and Jens from Germany and they've taken enough food with them to last a few days. The hope is that if they can hang on long enough, Cairn will miss the summer drilling window, and have to wait until next year when the sheet ice melts again.

But the situation is still tense. We're getting reports that a second Danish navy warship is heading to the area and the police have already used hooks to tear one of the banners off them.

We're in contact with the climbers and will let you know the latest as it happens. While they're still hanging in there, listen to Sim talking about why he became an activist and why although he doesn't want to get arrested, sometimes you have to take action.

Take the common French fry. Copying the magic of even a simple oil-cooked potato at home requires diligence, resources and certain flirtation with danger. Here is the food science you need to know to get your fry on.


Potato - Food science - French language - French fries - Agriculture