With fake oil actions spilling out all over the place, it's high time someone did some skill sharing. Step up our international office with their "activist recipe for fake oil".

Basically, you mix up some molasses with some corn oil, corn starch, chocolate powder and some flour and away you go (well, there's a bit more to it than that - full recipe here).

Fishermen scoop oily sludge from the oil spill in Dalian, China (c) Arthur JD/Greenpeace

Arthur JD writes from Dalian in China...

I arrived in Dalian on the day of the funeral for firefighter Zhang Liang, who drowned beneath the thick crude when his crew jumped into the ocean - without safety gear - to attempt, in vain, to fix an underwater pipe. Our lead photographer, Jiang He, who by now has reached legendary status globally for capturing the final seconds of Zhang's life, continued to cover the very emotional moments of this oil spill disaster.

It was a very early start this morning. I'm not much of a morning person and the adrenaline was pumping, so I was a bit worried about driving through central London my nerves feeling fuzzy and frazzled. But as I motored through the quiet streets of London at 5am in silence behind the wheel of a Toyota Prius I started to feel better. Because I have to admit, I really like driving.

I grew up in North America and it wasn't summer without a good road trip. I have eco-guilt about it, but I love the freedom, covering huge distances, being able to stop anytime and anywhere and enjoy the view or a bit of local culture. But I don't own a car - I don't need one in the city, and I don't want one because of the resources they eat up and the climate impacts. Well, until now.

This morning, starting at  5.30am, teams of Greenpeace volunteers have been shutting down BP stations across London. We aim to close dozens down this morning.

Watch the action as it happens - pictures, video and text updates from the teams.

The teams - each named after an animal threatened by BP's reckless oil exploration - fanned out across the capital in their electric and hybrid cars, going station to station and disabling the pumps.

Why today? Because BP is expected to announce later the appointment of Bob Dudley as the company's new head to replace the gaffe-prone Tony Hayward, who led BP during the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Read more »

Greenpeace USA's Mike Gaworecki reports from the Arctic Sunrise as it makes its way to the Gulf to conduct a three-month expedition documenting the true impacts of the BP Deepwater Disaster on the region's marine life and unique ecosystems.

Since the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig exploded and sank in April, BP has devoted inadequate resources to the oil spill response, withheld information from the American public, and denied access to spill sites to journalists.

So our ship the Arctic Sunrise is heading to the Gulf to do an independent assessment of the impacts. We believe it’s way past time the full, unabridged truth about the extent and nature of this oil catastrophe was told to America and the world.

Read the full blog »

As efforts to contain the oil spill continue, a new slideshow from our US colleagues details the ongoing consequences of the massive slick from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

And you can see the complete Gulf Oil Spill photoset on Flickr as well.

Dramatic pictures from our Beijing office today showing what a dangerous substance dirty oil really is.

Greenpeace USA's Joao Talocchi writes from the Gulf of Mexico, where our ground team has been documenting the impacts of BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Today we visited one of the Bird Rehabilitation Centers in Louisiana. We saw dozens of birds, from different species, cleaned of oil with detergent, water and toothbrushes and tagged. They are monitored and then released to the wild. The center has treated and release more then 500 birds so far, a small number if you take into account that more then 550 miles (885Km) of shoreline has been impacted by the Deep Water Horizon disaster.

This week Greenpeace launches our vision for a European energy revolution – a practical blueprint for a renewable energy future. Using only proven technologies we can phase out fossil-fuels, cut CO2 emissions by over 90% by 2050 and ensure energy security – without a huge reduction in living standards.

We've won a great victory against the Heathrow third runway, but there are still plans to expand aviation elsewhere around the country. The airline industry needs to take on its fair share of emissions cuts. We should be thinking about reducing, not expanding aviation. We can start with journeys which can clearly be made through other means - by replacing domestic flights with an improved national train and coach network.

On Saturday 4 September, our friends at the Campaign against Climate Change are organising a 'Train not Plane' day of action in London and Manchester. It starts with a demonstration outside London's City Airport in the morning, supporting the local campaign to stop increased numbers of flights at the airport. This will be followed by a Read more »