Also by jamie

Has Cameron lost his love for the huskies and our climate?

Posted by jamie - 13 May 2011 at 5:06pm - Comments
Is this really the 'greenest government ever'?
All rights reserved. Credit: David Sandison / Greenpeace
Is this really the 'greenest government ever'?

Is it really a year since David Cameron, newly ensconced as prime minister, assured us that the coalition would be the "greenest government ever"? It's an anniversary worth remembering, if only to consider how, in environmental terms, Cameron's government seems stuck in reverse.

HSBC backs nuclear power in Indian earthquake zone

Posted by jamie - 11 May 2011 at 12:34pm - Comments
Site of the proposed nuclear power station in Jaitapur, India
All rights reserved. Credit: Apoorva Salkade / Greenpeace
Site of the proposed nuclear power station in Jaitapur, India

Two months ago, an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. This not only resulted in a huge natural disaster and humanitarian crisis, but also triggered an unprecedented man-made tragedy. And yet plans are afoot to build a nuclear power plant in another earthquake zone, this time in India.

Success! £4,000 raised and a new home for Paula Bear

Posted by jamie - 4 May 2011 at 12:04pm - Comments
Paula's looking for work .. we've got something for her
All rights reserved. Credit: National Theatre
Paula's looking for work .. we've got something for her

You are all brilliant.

We asked for your help to raise the cash to buy a polar bear which has become dear to our hearts (well, polar bear costume) and the response has been amazing. You've more than matched our target of £4,000 to find a new home for Paula Bear, and the current total is up around £4,500.

From our radiation sampling team in Japan

Posted by jamie - 29 March 2011 at 10:15am - Comments
Jacob Namminga checks a colleague's boots for traces of radioactivity
All rights reserved. Credit: Christian Åslund/Greenpeace
Jacob Namminga checks a colleague's boots for traces of radioactivity

Jacob Namminga, one of our radiation safety advisors, spoke to Brian Fitzgerald at our international office, about the radiation monitoring that began on Saturday March 26, in a rural area of Japan to the north west of the Fukushima nuclear plant.

The trip's aim was to asses the true extent of radiation risks to the local population, which has reported radiation levels of up to ten micro sieverts per hour in Iitate village, 20km beyond the official evacuation zone - levels high enough to require evacuation. As told to Brian, here are Jacob's reflections on the trip.

'Greenest government ever' keeps us addicted to oil and other dirty energies

Posted by jamie - 24 March 2011 at 4:32pm - Comments

So yesterday's budget was from the self-proclaimed 'greenest government ever', but was it the greenest budget ever? How could it be, when it has done nothing to break our addiction with oil, hobbled the Green Investment Bank before it's even started, and provided a windfall for nuclear power.

You did it! Princes will indeed change their tuna, and so will Asda

Posted by jamie - 9 March 2011 at 12:48pm - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace/Kristian Buus

It's with enormous pleasure that I can reveal that Princes has (finally) got the message that bycatch is killing the oceans and has announced that it will clean up its tinned tuna.

Skipjack tuna is cheap and plentiful... or is it?

Posted by jamie - 1 March 2011 at 11:41am - Comments
Tuna and bycatch caught in the east Pacific
All rights reserved. Credit: Alex Hofford/Greenpeace
Tuna and bycatch caught in the east Pacific

Of all the tuna species, skipjack is seen as the most plentiful and the most sustainable. The speed with which it reproduces and matures has meant stocks are more resilient to our industrial fishing fleets than its bluefin and bigeye cousins, and has guaranteed its place in the sandwiches and baked potatoes of the nation. Or at least, that has been the case until now.

Princes tuna: 'the tin full of sin'

Posted by jamie - 22 February 2011 at 5:40pm - Comments
Nice PR? Princes tinned tuna rebranded
All rights reserved. Credit: Alex Hofford/Greenpeace/B Darvill

Now I'm back in the office and finally warmed up after yesterday's trip to visit Princes in Liverpool, I've been able to browse through some of the slogan suggestions which have been sent in. There are some absolute crackers in the 1,000-plus ideas we've received.

Sharks ask Princes: if you found Nemo, would you kill him too?

Posted by jamie - 21 February 2011 at 9:17am - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace/Kristian Buus

Update, 9 March 2011: both Princes and Asda have committed to removing tuna caught using fish aggregating devices in combination with purse seine nets from their supply chains by 2014. Read more >>

By the time you read this, I'll be at the head office of Princes in Liverpool where a frenzy of sharks is demanding an end (a fin-ish?) to the dreadful fishing methods that kill other marine species like sharks, rays and even turtles which Princes relies on for its tinned tuna.

Princes selling endangered tuna for less than £1 a pop

Posted by jamie - 1 February 2011 at 7:10pm - Comments
Bigeye tuna caught in the Pacific. Princes claims to use bigeye tuna from the In
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace/Alex Hofford
Bigeye tuna caught in the Pacific. Princes claims to use bigeye tuna from the Indian Ocean

Yesterday, some of my colleagues met with executives from Princes to discuss the problems with their tinned tuna. It was the first meeting for several months and certainly since Princes came bottom of our league table. Needless to say, there was a lot to discuss.   

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