Blog: Climate

1968. That was a hell of a year. The people were on the streets, revolution
 was in the air, we released the White Album, and perhaps the most
 influential photograph of all time was taken by an astronaut called William
 Anders.
 

Over the weekend, Shell quite literally ran into further problems with its near-farcical attempts to drill in the Arctic when its dilapidated drillship Noble Discoverer appeared to run aground after slipping its anchors in Dutch Harbour, Alaska, in what was described as a “stiff breeze.” Whilst Shell denied its vessel had grounded, eyewitnesses painted a very different story, with one local saying that “the stern certainly struck bottom and any report to the contrary is a pure fabrication bordering on outright lies.” Either way, the bizarre scene of a giant rig floating aimlessly towards the shore in such sheltered waters does not say much for the ability of Shell to operate safely in the much more extreme conditions of the icy Polar north...

If there’s one thing to love about social media, it’s this: no matter how many millions companies like Shell throw at it, they’ll never crack it. Because they don’t control the message -- you do.

Yesterday, we took action. We closed 78 petrol Shell stations in London and Edinburgh to protest against Shells mission to drill for oil in the Arctic. We broadcast the action live from the ground, on the world’s first live direct action TV channel (we think), which ran for 12 hours, watched by over 14,000 people around the world. This happened as part of Greenpeace UK's contribution to the Greenpeace global week of action happening all around the world to save the Arctic.