Also by bex

Message from the Rainbow Warrior: stop coal and kick start clean energy

Posted by bex - 22 October 2008 at 2:06pm - Comments

Kick start clean energy

"Kick start clean energy" written on the side of the Rainbow Warrior in LEDs, with London buildings behind. © Will Rose / Greenpeace

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Captain MikeThe Rainbow Warrior is a ship full of stories; everywhere on the ship there are photographs of the non-violent direct actions Greenpeace has taken over the years, artefacts from our campaigns, painted totems donated by Native Canadian people, pictures drawn by visitors to the boat, and portraits of crew members past and present. And every time you talk to someone who knows the ship and her history intimately, like the captain, you get the chance to hear more.

There's no way I'd have time to pass on all the stories I'm hearing but I am going to try and record a few of them for you, starting with Mike, the Captain (pictured), telling last night's guests the story of the Rainbow Warrior sailing into the Moruroa test zone. It's quite a story - have a listen to this mp3:

But our visitors last night didn't just hear stories from the past. They also got to hear - and see - a good deal about our present campaign: to give coal the boot and kickstart a clean energy revolution.

Article tagged as: audio, climate change, coal, coal ship tour, kingsnorth, multimedia, rainbow warrior

Pete's blog - first day on the Rainbow Warrior

Posted by bex - 22 October 2008 at 8:55am - Comments

Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior coming through Tower Bridge

The Rainbow Warrior coming through London's Tower Bridge. © Will Rose / Greenpeace

See all Rainbow Warrior tour updates or get them by email.

Pete - Rainbow Warrior crewPete is a volunteer deck hand on the Rainbow Warrior.

I'm only on the Rainbow Warrior! With some awe and trepidation, I joined the ship yesterday afternoon. It's now Tuesday night and, fighting to keep my eyes open, I look back on my first, very full, day on board.

An early start to move the ship to Tower Bridge. With two RHIBs (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats) in the water, slightly twitchy river police turn up in a launch and escort us all the way up the Thames. It's impressive, the power Greenpeace has to motivate others...

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, london, rainbow warrior, ships

The Rainbow Warrior - big city, bright lights and night watches

Posted by bex - 21 October 2008 at 5:50am - Comments

View Larger Map

I'll be adding to this map throughout the tour (zoom out to see events during the global tour).

See all Rainbow Warrior tour updates or get them by email.

Some time yesterday morning (was it really yesterday morning?), I left the Greenpeace office, took a short tube ride eastwards, crossed a gang plank and fell through a rabbit hole into the weird and wonderful world that is a Greenpeace ship. And not just any Greenpeace ship, but our flagship Rainbow Warrior II, which is so tied up with Greenpeace's history. 

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, energy, give coal the boot, rainbow warrior, ships

A year in the life of the Rainbow Warrior - on a mission to stop coal

Posted by bex - 17 October 2008 at 3:32pm - Comments

Rainbow Warrior

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With only one sleep to go until the Rainbow Warrior gets here, I was planning to tell you about her adventures over the past year, when she's been on a mission to get the planet to quit coal - trailing the odd campaign victory in her wake But then I noticed Captain Mike Finken has done it for me, on the Making Waves blog. Here's a snippet:

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, kingsnorth, mike finken, quit coal tour, rainbow warrior, ships

Labour: we will cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050

Posted by bex - 16 October 2008 at 6:28pm - Comments

Greenland

Has somebody put something in the water around Westminister? On Tuesday I found myself waxing lyrical about a new Tory announcement. Today it's Labour's turn. Frankly, I'm a little freaked out.

Ed Miliband - he who thousands of you congratulated when he got his new job as climate change secretary - has announced a new emissions reduction target for the UK. We will, he said, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 figures.

Article tagged as: climate change, ed miliband, emissions, targets

Tories: "we will stop a third runway"

Posted by bex - 14 October 2008 at 5:15pm - Comments

Heathrow Airport

I still suspect I may have fallen down a rabbit hole but apparently it's true. Two weeks after formally telling the world they're opposed to a third runway at Heathrow, the Tories have issued an extraordinary warning to companies. Don't get involved in any contracts to build the third runway, they're saying, because we're "absolutely determined" to stop the project going ahead. (Oh, and they're opposed to a second runway at Stansted too.)

Article tagged as: airport expansion, aviation, climate change, heathrow, heathrow expansion, third runway

A history of the Rainbow Warrior, in pictures

Posted by bex - 10 October 2008 at 6:09pm - Comments

With the Rainbow Warrior on her way to the UK, we thought we'd put together a slideshow to share a few of the highs - and lows - of her remarkable history. Our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior has travelled from South America to the South Pacific, the Antarctic to the Atlantic - an icon for environmentalists around the globe.

The ship coming to the UK is of course the Rainbow Warrior II; the original vessel was sunk in 1985 by French government agents trying to foil protests at their nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. (The ship's name was inspired by a Native American prophecy which foretells a time when human greed would make the world sick, and warriors of the rainbow would come together to save it.)

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, give coal the boot, kingsnorth, rainbow warrior

Stansted and City airports get the expansion go ahead

Posted by bex - 10 October 2008 at 9:45am - Comments

Stansted Airport

There've been two new blows to the UK's prospects of tackling climate change in the last couple of days.

First, City Airport got permission to increase flights to and from the airport by up to 50 per cent - despite the presence of dozens of flashmobbers registering their opposition outside Newham Town Hall (where the decision meeting was taking place), and local planners, teachers and campaigners from a number of organisations inside the hall. And despite the fact that the airport representatives couldn't and didn't even try to answer the accusations that they'd lied and their noise figures were inaccurate.

Article tagged as: airport expansion, aviation, city airport, climate change, coventry, stansted

The Rainbow Warrior is coming to the UK

Posted by bex - 8 October 2008 at 1:15pm - Comments

See all Rainbow Warrior tour updates or get them by email.

She's our world famous flagship, she's helped to win Greenpeace campaigns across the globe and now she's coming to the UK to persuade Gordon Brown to Give Coal the Boot.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, give coal the boot, kingsnorth, rainbow warrior

Kingsnorth, Heathrow and the 80% target

Posted by bex - 7 October 2008 at 11:12am - Comments

Greenland glacier

The Independent Climate Change Commission has warned the government that it should cut all greenhouse emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 to tackle climate change.

In itself, this isn't particularly surprising; scientists have been recommending this for some time. More interesting - and very welcome - is that the commission wants to include aviation and shipping in the target. That means, for once, that 'all greenhouse gas emissions' pretty much means 'all greenhouse gas emissions'.

Article tagged as: airport expansion, aviation, climate change, coal, emissions, ICCC, targets

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